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Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Stay informed by visiting the News section of our website.

For details on the bill, please consult the website of

The national assembly.

Please receive our best regards.

QUEBEC A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

The bill Loi visant à accroître la prospérité socio-économique du Québec et à répondre adéquatement aux besoins du marché du travail par une intégration réussie des personnes immigrantes (PL9) was introduced today in the National Assembly. The goal of this bill is to establish the necessary legal basis for improving the francization and integration of selected candidates as well as a better alignment of Québec’s labour needs with the profile of selected candidates.

The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Improving the selection of immigrants

For immigration to contribute significantly to growing Québec’s prosperity and better responding to job market needs, the Ministère would like to benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the statement of interest. To do this, the bill proposes terminating most of the applications for which a decision has not yet been rendered under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and reimbursing the applicants in question so that from this point on all new applications occur by invitation of the Minister, following submission of a statement of interest.

This provision of the bill seeks, in particular, to:

ensure a better alignment between job market needs and the profile of selected candidates;

benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the declaration of interest, by inviting candidates who meet Québec’s needs;

reduce processing times for applications for permanent selection from skilled workers.

Note that applications for the addition of a spouse or a de facto spouse and applications for the addition of a child submitted by skilled workers who have already been selected are not targeted by this provision.

Strengthening Québec’s actions in the area of immigration

The Ministère wishes to pursue its efforts to fully exercise its powers of selection, particularly with the reintroduction of the enabling power that allows the Québec government to determine by regulation the conditions for permanent residence that the Minister can impose on the candidates selected. Québec also wishes to expand its scope of intervention, by ensuring better follow-up of the clients that use the services offered by its many partners.

Public consultations on the bill will begin shortly and will enable stakeholders in the milieu, such as francization, integration and immigration law organizations, to voice their opinions on the new orientations proposed by the government.

For information on the details of Bill 9 and the public consultation, consult the National Assembly’s site.

Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Stay informed by visiting the News section of our website.

For details on the bill, please consult the website of

The national assembly.

Please receive our best regards.

QUEBEC A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

The bill Loi visant à accroître la prospérité socio-économique du Québec et à répondre adéquatement aux besoins du marché du travail par une intégration réussie des personnes immigrantes (PL9) was introduced today in the National Assembly. The goal of this bill is to establish the necessary legal basis for improving the francization and integration of selected candidates as well as a better alignment of Québec’s labour needs with the profile of selected candidates.

The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Improving the selection of immigrants

For immigration to contribute significantly to growing Québec’s prosperity and better responding to job market needs, the Ministère would like to benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the statement of interest. To do this, the bill proposes terminating most of the applications for which a decision has not yet been rendered under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and reimbursing the applicants in question so that from this point on all new applications occur by invitation of the Minister, following submission of a statement of interest.

This provision of the bill seeks, in particular, to:

ensure a better alignment between job market needs and the profile of selected candidates;

benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the declaration of interest, by inviting candidates who meet Québec’s needs;

reduce processing times for applications for permanent selection from skilled workers.

Note that applications for the addition of a spouse or a de facto spouse and applications for the addition of a child submitted by skilled workers who have already been selected are not targeted by this provision.

Strengthening Québec’s actions in the area of immigration

The Ministère wishes to pursue its efforts to fully exercise its powers of selection, particularly with the reintroduction of the enabling power that allows the Québec government to determine by regulation the conditions for permanent residence that the Minister can impose on the candidates selected. Québec also wishes to expand its scope of intervention, by ensuring better follow-up of the clients that use the services offered by its many partners.

Public consultations on the bill will begin shortly and will enable stakeholders in the milieu, such as francization, integration and immigration law organizations, to voice their opinions on the new orientations proposed by the government.

For information on the details of Bill 9 and the public consultation, consult the National Assembly’s site.

2019 Parental Sponsorship Process Announced

Get ready to submit your 2019 interest to sponsor form

The first step to sponsor your parents or grandparents is filling out the interest to sponsor form.

The interest to sponsor form will be available at noon EST on January 28, 2019.

We’ll accept form submissions on a first-in basis. As soon as we get enough submissions, the form will no longer be available.

How to fill out the form

You, the person who wants to sponsor, must fill out the form.

If you have your information ready, it should take you about 10 minutes.

We recommend you use a desktop computer.

If you make a mistake on your interest to sponsor form, don’t submit another form.

Prepare your proof of status in Canada document

We’ll accept expired documents. You don’t need to renew your document to complete the interest to sponsor form or to submit your sponsorship application.

Make sure you use the same status document with your interest to sponsor form submission as you’ll submit with your application, if you’re invited to apply.

Submit one of the following proof of status documents:

permanent resident card (both sides)

record of landing (IMM 1000) (only if you didn’t get a PR Card)

Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688)

Canadian Citizenship Certificate or card (both sides)

Canadian birth certificate

If you were born in Quebec, we’ll only accept a birth certificate from the Directeur de l’État civil.

Canadian passport (pages showing passport number, date of issue and expiration, photo, name, surname, place and date of birth)

Secure certificate of Indian status

Prepare your copy ahead of time and know where to find it on your computer or mobile device.

How to create an electronic or digital copy

You can use a scanner or camera to create a digital copy of your proof of status document. Scan or take a picture of your status in Canada document.

The maximum file size is 2.5 MB. If your file is bigger than 2.5 MB, you should reduce the size.

You can only submit 1 file with your interest to sponsor form. If you have to submit both sides of your status in Canada document, save both sides into 1 document. If you don’t have a photo editing software, the easiest way to do this is to save both images into a Microsoft Word Document.

We accept these file formats:

PDF (Portable Document)

JPG, TIFF, or PNG (image)

DOC or DOCX (Microsoft Word document)

Take note of the name you give the file and where you save it so you can easily find the file later.

To avoid delays in processing, make sure the image is clear and your information is easy to read.

Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Stay informed by visiting the News section of our website.

For details on the bill, please consult the website of

The national assembly.

Please receive our best regards.

QUEBEC A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

The bill Loi visant à accroître la prospérité socio-économique du Québec et à répondre adéquatement aux besoins du marché du travail par une intégration réussie des personnes immigrantes (PL9) was introduced today in the National Assembly. The goal of this bill is to establish the necessary legal basis for improving the francization and integration of selected candidates as well as a better alignment of Québec’s labour needs with the profile of selected candidates.

The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Improving the selection of immigrants

For immigration to contribute significantly to growing Québec’s prosperity and better responding to job market needs, the Ministère would like to benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the statement of interest. To do this, the bill proposes terminating most of the applications for which a decision has not yet been rendered under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and reimbursing the applicants in question so that from this point on all new applications occur by invitation of the Minister, following submission of a statement of interest.

This provision of the bill seeks, in particular, to:

ensure a better alignment between job market needs and the profile of selected candidates;

benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the declaration of interest, by inviting candidates who meet Québec’s needs;

reduce processing times for applications for permanent selection from skilled workers.

Note that applications for the addition of a spouse or a de facto spouse and applications for the addition of a child submitted by skilled workers who have already been selected are not targeted by this provision.

Strengthening Québec’s actions in the area of immigration

The Ministère wishes to pursue its efforts to fully exercise its powers of selection, particularly with the reintroduction of the enabling power that allows the Québec government to determine by regulation the conditions for permanent residence that the Minister can impose on the candidates selected. Québec also wishes to expand its scope of intervention, by ensuring better follow-up of the clients that use the services offered by its many partners.

Public consultations on the bill will begin shortly and will enable stakeholders in the milieu, such as francization, integration and immigration law organizations, to voice their opinions on the new orientations proposed by the government.

For information on the details of Bill 9 and the public consultation, consult the National Assembly’s site.

2019 Parental Sponsorship Process Announced

Get ready to submit your 2019 interest to sponsor form

The first step to sponsor your parents or grandparents is filling out the interest to sponsor form.

The interest to sponsor form will be available at noon EST on January 28, 2019.

We’ll accept form submissions on a first-in basis. As soon as we get enough submissions, the form will no longer be available.

How to fill out the form

You, the person who wants to sponsor, must fill out the form.

If you have your information ready, it should take you about 10 minutes.

We recommend you use a desktop computer.

If you make a mistake on your interest to sponsor form, don’t submit another form.

Prepare your proof of status in Canada document

We’ll accept expired documents. You don’t need to renew your document to complete the interest to sponsor form or to submit your sponsorship application.

Make sure you use the same status document with your interest to sponsor form submission as you’ll submit with your application, if you’re invited to apply.

Submit one of the following proof of status documents:

permanent resident card (both sides)

record of landing (IMM 1000) (only if you didn’t get a PR Card)

Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688)

Canadian Citizenship Certificate or card (both sides)

Canadian birth certificate

If you were born in Quebec, we’ll only accept a birth certificate from the Directeur de l’État civil.

Canadian passport (pages showing passport number, date of issue and expiration, photo, name, surname, place and date of birth)

Secure certificate of Indian status

Prepare your copy ahead of time and know where to find it on your computer or mobile device.

How to create an electronic or digital copy

You can use a scanner or camera to create a digital copy of your proof of status document. Scan or take a picture of your status in Canada document.

The maximum file size is 2.5 MB. If your file is bigger than 2.5 MB, you should reduce the size.

You can only submit 1 file with your interest to sponsor form. If you have to submit both sides of your status in Canada document, save both sides into 1 document. If you don’t have a photo editing software, the easiest way to do this is to save both images into a Microsoft Word Document.

We accept these file formats:

PDF (Portable Document)

JPG, TIFF, or PNG (image)

DOC or DOCX (Microsoft Word document)

Take note of the name you give the file and where you save it so you can easily find the file later.

To avoid delays in processing, make sure the image is clear and your information is easy to read.

After you submit your interest to sponsor form in 2019

After you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form, you’ll see a confirmation page with a confirmation number. Keep this number for your records.

We’ll also send you an email to confirm that we’ve received your form.

We’ll invite potential sponsors to submit a complete application in the same order we receive the interest to sponsor forms.

We’ll start sending invitations after we review the submissions and remove duplicates.

If you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form this year, use your confirmation number to find out if you’re invited to apply.

Increased Immigration Levels in future Years Announced by Minister of Immigration CANADA

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the new multi-year immigration levels plan for 2019-2021. This new immigration plan will benefit all Canadians because immigrants contribute to Canada’s economic growth and help keep Canada competitive in a global economy.

The new plan builds on the strong economic foundation laid out in last year’s levels plan and continues to responsibly grow the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes annually to 330,800 in 2019, 341,000 in 2020 and 350,000—nearing 1 percent of Canada’s population—in 2021.

Minister Hussen highlighted the importance of economic immigration in spurring innovation domestically. That’s why the government’s immigration plan remains focused on attracting the best and brightest from around the world with the majority of the increase in 2021 allotted to high-skilled economic immigration. Newcomers are helping Canadian companies succeed and grow in the expanding information and communications technology sector, where one third of employees are immigrants.

Canada has welcomed generations of immigrants who have brought their talents to, and are an integral part of, local communities across the country. Immigration is a central pillar of Canada’s future economic success. In addition to spurring economic growth, immigration helps address the challenges our country faces with an ageing population, and plays a crucial role in keeping our country at the forefront of the global economy.

Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Stay informed by visiting the News section of our website.

For details on the bill, please consult the website of

The national assembly.

Please receive our best regards.

QUEBEC A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

The bill Loi visant à accroître la prospérité socio-économique du Québec et à répondre adéquatement aux besoins du marché du travail par une intégration réussie des personnes immigrantes (PL9) was introduced today in the National Assembly. The goal of this bill is to establish the necessary legal basis for improving the francization and integration of selected candidates as well as a better alignment of Québec’s labour needs with the profile of selected candidates.

The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Improving the selection of immigrants

For immigration to contribute significantly to growing Québec’s prosperity and better responding to job market needs, the Ministère would like to benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the statement of interest. To do this, the bill proposes terminating most of the applications for which a decision has not yet been rendered under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and reimbursing the applicants in question so that from this point on all new applications occur by invitation of the Minister, following submission of a statement of interest.

This provision of the bill seeks, in particular, to:

ensure a better alignment between job market needs and the profile of selected candidates;

benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the declaration of interest, by inviting candidates who meet Québec’s needs;

reduce processing times for applications for permanent selection from skilled workers.

Note that applications for the addition of a spouse or a de facto spouse and applications for the addition of a child submitted by skilled workers who have already been selected are not targeted by this provision.

Strengthening Québec’s actions in the area of immigration

The Ministère wishes to pursue its efforts to fully exercise its powers of selection, particularly with the reintroduction of the enabling power that allows the Québec government to determine by regulation the conditions for permanent residence that the Minister can impose on the candidates selected. Québec also wishes to expand its scope of intervention, by ensuring better follow-up of the clients that use the services offered by its many partners.

Public consultations on the bill will begin shortly and will enable stakeholders in the milieu, such as francization, integration and immigration law organizations, to voice their opinions on the new orientations proposed by the government.

For information on the details of Bill 9 and the public consultation, consult the National Assembly’s site.

2019 Parental Sponsorship Process Announced

Get ready to submit your 2019 interest to sponsor form

The first step to sponsor your parents or grandparents is filling out the interest to sponsor form.

The interest to sponsor form will be available at noon EST on January 28, 2019.

We’ll accept form submissions on a first-in basis. As soon as we get enough submissions, the form will no longer be available.

How to fill out the form

You, the person who wants to sponsor, must fill out the form.

If you have your information ready, it should take you about 10 minutes.

We recommend you use a desktop computer.

If you make a mistake on your interest to sponsor form, don’t submit another form.

Prepare your proof of status in Canada document

We’ll accept expired documents. You don’t need to renew your document to complete the interest to sponsor form or to submit your sponsorship application.

Make sure you use the same status document with your interest to sponsor form submission as you’ll submit with your application, if you’re invited to apply.

Submit one of the following proof of status documents:

permanent resident card (both sides)

record of landing (IMM 1000) (only if you didn’t get a PR Card)

Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688)

Canadian Citizenship Certificate or card (both sides)

Canadian birth certificate

If you were born in Quebec, we’ll only accept a birth certificate from the Directeur de l’État civil.

Canadian passport (pages showing passport number, date of issue and expiration, photo, name, surname, place and date of birth)

Secure certificate of Indian status

Prepare your copy ahead of time and know where to find it on your computer or mobile device.

How to create an electronic or digital copy

You can use a scanner or camera to create a digital copy of your proof of status document. Scan or take a picture of your status in Canada document.

The maximum file size is 2.5 MB. If your file is bigger than 2.5 MB, you should reduce the size.

You can only submit 1 file with your interest to sponsor form. If you have to submit both sides of your status in Canada document, save both sides into 1 document. If you don’t have a photo editing software, the easiest way to do this is to save both images into a Microsoft Word Document.

We accept these file formats:

PDF (Portable Document)

JPG, TIFF, or PNG (image)

DOC or DOCX (Microsoft Word document)

Take note of the name you give the file and where you save it so you can easily find the file later.

To avoid delays in processing, make sure the image is clear and your information is easy to read.

After you submit your interest to sponsor form in 2019

After you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form, you’ll see a confirmation page with a confirmation number. Keep this number for your records.

We’ll also send you an email to confirm that we’ve received your form.

We’ll invite potential sponsors to submit a complete application in the same order we receive the interest to sponsor forms.

We’ll start sending invitations after we review the submissions and remove duplicates.

If you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form this year, use your confirmation number to find out if you’re invited to apply.

Increased Immigration Levels in future Years Announced by Minister of Immigration CANADA

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the new multi-year immigration levels plan for 2019-2021. This new immigration plan will benefit all Canadians because immigrants contribute to Canada’s economic growth and help keep Canada competitive in a global economy.

The new plan builds on the strong economic foundation laid out in last year’s levels plan and continues to responsibly grow the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes annually to 330,800 in 2019, 341,000 in 2020 and 350,000—nearing 1 percent of Canada’s population—in 2021.

Minister Hussen highlighted the importance of economic immigration in spurring innovation domestically. That’s why the government’s immigration plan remains focused on attracting the best and brightest from around the world with the majority of the increase in 2021 allotted to high-skilled economic immigration. Newcomers are helping Canadian companies succeed and grow in the expanding information and communications technology sector, where one third of employees are immigrants.

Canada has welcomed generations of immigrants who have brought their talents to, and are an integral part of, local communities across the country. Immigration is a central pillar of Canada’s future economic success. In addition to spurring economic growth, immigration helps address the challenges our country faces with an ageing population, and plays a crucial role in keeping our country at the forefront of the global economy.

Great News for Parental Sponsorship 2019

To help reunite even more parents and grandparents with their families in Canada, today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that the Government of Canada will accept up to 20 000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2019. This is 4 times the number of applications accepted when the program reopened in 2014, when the cap was set at 5000 applications.

This decision to increase the number of applications that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept for processing is a result of continually high demand in the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program and the fact that we have significantly reduced the inventory of applications.

Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Stay informed by visiting the News section of our website.

For details on the bill, please consult the website of

The national assembly.

Please receive our best regards.

QUEBEC A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

The bill Loi visant à accroître la prospérité socio-économique du Québec et à répondre adéquatement aux besoins du marché du travail par une intégration réussie des personnes immigrantes (PL9) was introduced today in the National Assembly. The goal of this bill is to establish the necessary legal basis for improving the francization and integration of selected candidates as well as a better alignment of Québec’s labour needs with the profile of selected candidates.

The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Improving the selection of immigrants

For immigration to contribute significantly to growing Québec’s prosperity and better responding to job market needs, the Ministère would like to benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the statement of interest. To do this, the bill proposes terminating most of the applications for which a decision has not yet been rendered under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and reimbursing the applicants in question so that from this point on all new applications occur by invitation of the Minister, following submission of a statement of interest.

This provision of the bill seeks, in particular, to:

ensure a better alignment between job market needs and the profile of selected candidates;

benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the declaration of interest, by inviting candidates who meet Québec’s needs;

reduce processing times for applications for permanent selection from skilled workers.

Note that applications for the addition of a spouse or a de facto spouse and applications for the addition of a child submitted by skilled workers who have already been selected are not targeted by this provision.

Strengthening Québec’s actions in the area of immigration

The Ministère wishes to pursue its efforts to fully exercise its powers of selection, particularly with the reintroduction of the enabling power that allows the Québec government to determine by regulation the conditions for permanent residence that the Minister can impose on the candidates selected. Québec also wishes to expand its scope of intervention, by ensuring better follow-up of the clients that use the services offered by its many partners.

Public consultations on the bill will begin shortly and will enable stakeholders in the milieu, such as francization, integration and immigration law organizations, to voice their opinions on the new orientations proposed by the government.

For information on the details of Bill 9 and the public consultation, consult the National Assembly’s site.

2019 Parental Sponsorship Process Announced

Get ready to submit your 2019 interest to sponsor form

The first step to sponsor your parents or grandparents is filling out the interest to sponsor form.

The interest to sponsor form will be available at noon EST on January 28, 2019.

We’ll accept form submissions on a first-in basis. As soon as we get enough submissions, the form will no longer be available.

How to fill out the form

You, the person who wants to sponsor, must fill out the form.

If you have your information ready, it should take you about 10 minutes.

We recommend you use a desktop computer.

If you make a mistake on your interest to sponsor form, don’t submit another form.

Prepare your proof of status in Canada document

We’ll accept expired documents. You don’t need to renew your document to complete the interest to sponsor form or to submit your sponsorship application.

Make sure you use the same status document with your interest to sponsor form submission as you’ll submit with your application, if you’re invited to apply.

Submit one of the following proof of status documents:

permanent resident card (both sides)

record of landing (IMM 1000) (only if you didn’t get a PR Card)

Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688)

Canadian Citizenship Certificate or card (both sides)

Canadian birth certificate

If you were born in Quebec, we’ll only accept a birth certificate from the Directeur de l’État civil.

Canadian passport (pages showing passport number, date of issue and expiration, photo, name, surname, place and date of birth)

Secure certificate of Indian status

Prepare your copy ahead of time and know where to find it on your computer or mobile device.

How to create an electronic or digital copy

You can use a scanner or camera to create a digital copy of your proof of status document. Scan or take a picture of your status in Canada document.

The maximum file size is 2.5 MB. If your file is bigger than 2.5 MB, you should reduce the size.

You can only submit 1 file with your interest to sponsor form. If you have to submit both sides of your status in Canada document, save both sides into 1 document. If you don’t have a photo editing software, the easiest way to do this is to save both images into a Microsoft Word Document.

We accept these file formats:

PDF (Portable Document)

JPG, TIFF, or PNG (image)

DOC or DOCX (Microsoft Word document)

Take note of the name you give the file and where you save it so you can easily find the file later.

To avoid delays in processing, make sure the image is clear and your information is easy to read.

After you submit your interest to sponsor form in 2019

After you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form, you’ll see a confirmation page with a confirmation number. Keep this number for your records.

We’ll also send you an email to confirm that we’ve received your form.

We’ll invite potential sponsors to submit a complete application in the same order we receive the interest to sponsor forms.

We’ll start sending invitations after we review the submissions and remove duplicates.

If you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form this year, use your confirmation number to find out if you’re invited to apply.

Increased Immigration Levels in future Years Announced by Minister of Immigration CANADA

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the new multi-year immigration levels plan for 2019-2021. This new immigration plan will benefit all Canadians because immigrants contribute to Canada’s economic growth and help keep Canada competitive in a global economy.

The new plan builds on the strong economic foundation laid out in last year’s levels plan and continues to responsibly grow the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes annually to 330,800 in 2019, 341,000 in 2020 and 350,000—nearing 1 percent of Canada’s population—in 2021.

Minister Hussen highlighted the importance of economic immigration in spurring innovation domestically. That’s why the government’s immigration plan remains focused on attracting the best and brightest from around the world with the majority of the increase in 2021 allotted to high-skilled economic immigration. Newcomers are helping Canadian companies succeed and grow in the expanding information and communications technology sector, where one third of employees are immigrants.

Canada has welcomed generations of immigrants who have brought their talents to, and are an integral part of, local communities across the country. Immigration is a central pillar of Canada’s future economic success. In addition to spurring economic growth, immigration helps address the challenges our country faces with an ageing population, and plays a crucial role in keeping our country at the forefront of the global economy.

Great News for Parental Sponsorship 2019

To help reunite even more parents and grandparents with their families in Canada, today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that the Government of Canada will accept up to 20 000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2019. This is 4 times the number of applications accepted when the program reopened in 2014, when the cap was set at 5000 applications.

This decision to increase the number of applications that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept for processing is a result of continually high demand in the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program and the fact that we have significantly reduced the inventory of applications.

New QUEBEC Skilled Worker Application intake begins August 2, 2018

New Quebec Applicants... Get Ready:

The application intake is likely to begin from August 2, 2018. The Gazette states "the date of coming into force of the provisions of the Act respecting immigration to Québec (2016, chapter 3) be set for August 2, 2018"

The new system will replace the current first-come, first-served application process for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP).

The process of applying under the Quebec Skilled Worker program, or what the government calls the Regular Skilled Worker Program, will include the following steps for candidates:

1. Submission of an Expression of Interest to settle in Quebec and entry into Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

2. Successful selection from the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank results in an invitation to apply for the QSWP.

3. Submission of an application for a Quebec Selection Certificate, or certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) to the MIDI.

4. Submission of a Canadian permanent residence application to the federal government.

After the initial step of submitting an Expression of Interest to MIDI, candidates will be entered into the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank.

Candidates who meet the requirements, cut-off thresholds and passing scores for the program will be considered for selection.

Any foreign national 18 or older may submit an expression of interest to the province.

Once in the bank, a candidate will be assigned a score based on nine factors in Quebec's QSWP Points Grid, which include skilled work experience, education and training, proficiency in French or English, financial self-sufficiency, and others. In order to be considered, all profiles will have to meet the minimum score requirement of two points awarded for a secondary school general diploma and receive the one point for financial self-sufficiency to remain in Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

Profiles that meet the initial requirements for education and financial self-sufficiency must then meet the required cut-off score of 43 points for Employability factors.

If a candidate has a spouse, his or her education and training, work experience and language proficiency will be considered toward's a candidates overall cut-off score.The Employability cut-off score for candidates with a spouse or common-law partner is 52.

Candidates in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank must also meet the minimum threshold for Selection factors, which is a passing score of 50 points (and 59 with a spouse or common-law partner). Selection factors take into consideration all Employability factors, and the addition of children and the financial self-sufficiency.

Once in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank, a candidate's profile will remain active for 12 months.

Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Stay informed by visiting the News section of our website.

For details on the bill, please consult the website of

The national assembly.

Please receive our best regards.

QUEBEC A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

The bill Loi visant à accroître la prospérité socio-économique du Québec et à répondre adéquatement aux besoins du marché du travail par une intégration réussie des personnes immigrantes (PL9) was introduced today in the National Assembly. The goal of this bill is to establish the necessary legal basis for improving the francization and integration of selected candidates as well as a better alignment of Québec’s labour needs with the profile of selected candidates.

The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Improving the selection of immigrants

For immigration to contribute significantly to growing Québec’s prosperity and better responding to job market needs, the Ministère would like to benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the statement of interest. To do this, the bill proposes terminating most of the applications for which a decision has not yet been rendered under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and reimbursing the applicants in question so that from this point on all new applications occur by invitation of the Minister, following submission of a statement of interest.

This provision of the bill seeks, in particular, to:

ensure a better alignment between job market needs and the profile of selected candidates;

benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the declaration of interest, by inviting candidates who meet Québec’s needs;

reduce processing times for applications for permanent selection from skilled workers.

Note that applications for the addition of a spouse or a de facto spouse and applications for the addition of a child submitted by skilled workers who have already been selected are not targeted by this provision.

Strengthening Québec’s actions in the area of immigration

The Ministère wishes to pursue its efforts to fully exercise its powers of selection, particularly with the reintroduction of the enabling power that allows the Québec government to determine by regulation the conditions for permanent residence that the Minister can impose on the candidates selected. Québec also wishes to expand its scope of intervention, by ensuring better follow-up of the clients that use the services offered by its many partners.

Public consultations on the bill will begin shortly and will enable stakeholders in the milieu, such as francization, integration and immigration law organizations, to voice their opinions on the new orientations proposed by the government.

For information on the details of Bill 9 and the public consultation, consult the National Assembly’s site.

2019 Parental Sponsorship Process Announced

Get ready to submit your 2019 interest to sponsor form

The first step to sponsor your parents or grandparents is filling out the interest to sponsor form.

The interest to sponsor form will be available at noon EST on January 28, 2019.

We’ll accept form submissions on a first-in basis. As soon as we get enough submissions, the form will no longer be available.

How to fill out the form

You, the person who wants to sponsor, must fill out the form.

If you have your information ready, it should take you about 10 minutes.

We recommend you use a desktop computer.

If you make a mistake on your interest to sponsor form, don’t submit another form.

Prepare your proof of status in Canada document

We’ll accept expired documents. You don’t need to renew your document to complete the interest to sponsor form or to submit your sponsorship application.

Make sure you use the same status document with your interest to sponsor form submission as you’ll submit with your application, if you’re invited to apply.

Submit one of the following proof of status documents:

permanent resident card (both sides)

record of landing (IMM 1000) (only if you didn’t get a PR Card)

Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688)

Canadian Citizenship Certificate or card (both sides)

Canadian birth certificate

If you were born in Quebec, we’ll only accept a birth certificate from the Directeur de l’État civil.

Canadian passport (pages showing passport number, date of issue and expiration, photo, name, surname, place and date of birth)

Secure certificate of Indian status

Prepare your copy ahead of time and know where to find it on your computer or mobile device.

How to create an electronic or digital copy

You can use a scanner or camera to create a digital copy of your proof of status document. Scan or take a picture of your status in Canada document.

The maximum file size is 2.5 MB. If your file is bigger than 2.5 MB, you should reduce the size.

You can only submit 1 file with your interest to sponsor form. If you have to submit both sides of your status in Canada document, save both sides into 1 document. If you don’t have a photo editing software, the easiest way to do this is to save both images into a Microsoft Word Document.

We accept these file formats:

PDF (Portable Document)

JPG, TIFF, or PNG (image)

DOC or DOCX (Microsoft Word document)

Take note of the name you give the file and where you save it so you can easily find the file later.

To avoid delays in processing, make sure the image is clear and your information is easy to read.

After you submit your interest to sponsor form in 2019

After you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form, you’ll see a confirmation page with a confirmation number. Keep this number for your records.

We’ll also send you an email to confirm that we’ve received your form.

We’ll invite potential sponsors to submit a complete application in the same order we receive the interest to sponsor forms.

We’ll start sending invitations after we review the submissions and remove duplicates.

If you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form this year, use your confirmation number to find out if you’re invited to apply.

Increased Immigration Levels in future Years Announced by Minister of Immigration CANADA

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the new multi-year immigration levels plan for 2019-2021. This new immigration plan will benefit all Canadians because immigrants contribute to Canada’s economic growth and help keep Canada competitive in a global economy.

The new plan builds on the strong economic foundation laid out in last year’s levels plan and continues to responsibly grow the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes annually to 330,800 in 2019, 341,000 in 2020 and 350,000—nearing 1 percent of Canada’s population—in 2021.

Minister Hussen highlighted the importance of economic immigration in spurring innovation domestically. That’s why the government’s immigration plan remains focused on attracting the best and brightest from around the world with the majority of the increase in 2021 allotted to high-skilled economic immigration. Newcomers are helping Canadian companies succeed and grow in the expanding information and communications technology sector, where one third of employees are immigrants.

Canada has welcomed generations of immigrants who have brought their talents to, and are an integral part of, local communities across the country. Immigration is a central pillar of Canada’s future economic success. In addition to spurring economic growth, immigration helps address the challenges our country faces with an ageing population, and plays a crucial role in keeping our country at the forefront of the global economy.

Great News for Parental Sponsorship 2019

To help reunite even more parents and grandparents with their families in Canada, today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that the Government of Canada will accept up to 20 000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2019. This is 4 times the number of applications accepted when the program reopened in 2014, when the cap was set at 5000 applications.

This decision to increase the number of applications that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept for processing is a result of continually high demand in the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program and the fact that we have significantly reduced the inventory of applications.

New QUEBEC Skilled Worker Application intake begins August 2, 2018

New Quebec Applicants... Get Ready:

The application intake is likely to begin from August 2, 2018. The Gazette states "the date of coming into force of the provisions of the Act respecting immigration to Québec (2016, chapter 3) be set for August 2, 2018"

The new system will replace the current first-come, first-served application process for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP).

The process of applying under the Quebec Skilled Worker program, or what the government calls the Regular Skilled Worker Program, will include the following steps for candidates:

1. Submission of an Expression of Interest to settle in Quebec and entry into Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

2. Successful selection from the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank results in an invitation to apply for the QSWP.

3. Submission of an application for a Quebec Selection Certificate, or certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) to the MIDI.

4. Submission of a Canadian permanent residence application to the federal government.

After the initial step of submitting an Expression of Interest to MIDI, candidates will be entered into the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank.

Candidates who meet the requirements, cut-off thresholds and passing scores for the program will be considered for selection.

Any foreign national 18 or older may submit an expression of interest to the province.

Once in the bank, a candidate will be assigned a score based on nine factors in Quebec's QSWP Points Grid, which include skilled work experience, education and training, proficiency in French or English, financial self-sufficiency, and others. In order to be considered, all profiles will have to meet the minimum score requirement of two points awarded for a secondary school general diploma and receive the one point for financial self-sufficiency to remain in Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

Profiles that meet the initial requirements for education and financial self-sufficiency must then meet the required cut-off score of 43 points for Employability factors.

If a candidate has a spouse, his or her education and training, work experience and language proficiency will be considered toward's a candidates overall cut-off score.The Employability cut-off score for candidates with a spouse or common-law partner is 52.

Candidates in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank must also meet the minimum threshold for Selection factors, which is a passing score of 50 points (and 59 with a spouse or common-law partner). Selection factors take into consideration all Employability factors, and the addition of children and the financial self-sufficiency.

Once in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank, a candidate's profile will remain active for 12 months.

Notice Class action against the MIDI

On February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes that came into effect on August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017. In order to respect the terms of Superior Court’s of Quebec judgment, the Ministère is issuing the following notice:

CLASS ACTION AGAINST THE MINISTRY OF IMMIGRATION,DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS OF QUEBEC (THE “MIDI”)C.C.M. 500-06-000660-130 NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION AUTHORIZATION

Read this notice carefully as it may affect your legal rights.

If you applied to immigrate to Québec in the “skilled worker” class between 2009 and March 2017, you may be a member of the class action that was authorized by Justice Pepita Capriolo of the Superior Court of Québec on February 19, 2018 for the following groups of persons (the “Class Members”):

Group 1

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013;

Whose application included form A-1520-AA or A-1520-AF containing the phrase “Your application for a selection certificate will be processed based on regulations in effect when it was submitted” or similar language; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of August 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer accumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 2

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 3

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of March 8, 2017; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the "Class Representative") instituted proceedings in the Superior Court of Quebec (the "Court") seeking permission to bring a class action against the Minister on behalf of the Class (the "Application for Authorization"). On May 16, 2017, the Application for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Class Representative for Group 3.

The Application for Authorization alleges that the Minister was unjustly enriched, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Québec by failing to offer a reimbursement of application fees paid by those individuals whose CSQ applications became doomed to fail as a result of the application of August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet seek reimbursement of application fees for all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Court authorized the Class Representatives to institute a class action in the judicial District of Montreal on behalf of the Class Members, and identified the following principal issues to be dealt with collectively:

(a) Should the Minister be condemned to reimburse the fees collected for the applications of the Group Members who do not opt out of the proposed class action?

And, in particular:

(b) Were the Group Members impoverished, and the Minister enriched, in the amount of the application fees paid, the whole without juridical reason?

(c) What is the amount of the Group Members' impoverishment and the Minister's enrichment?

(d) Alternately. did the Minister commit an extra-contractual fault and act in bad faith?

I. If so, what is the amount of damages suffered by the Group Members as a direct result of the Minister's faults?

(e) In all cases, can the aggregate amount of the fees to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

I. GRANT the Petitioners' action a against Respondent;

II. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay to each Group Member who have not opted out of the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid for their applications for a selection certificate in the skilled worker category filed prior to July 8, 2013, or the fees paid for applications doomed to failure by the 2017 amendments;

III. ORDER the collective recovery of all amounts to be paid by the Respondent to the Group Members;

THE WHOLE with costs, including the costs of publication of notices.

Opting out of the class action

If you wish to remain a Class Member in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to opt out of the class action, you must advise the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days of receiving this notice by registered mail to 1 Notre-Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 1B6. If you elect to opt out, you will not be eligible for any of the benefits of an eventual judgment on the merits.

Any Class Member who does not opt out before the deadline will be bound by Judgments to follow in the class action, including any final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the action against the Minister is ultimately successful. you may be entitled to reimbursement of the fees you paid to file an application for a CSQ. If the action against the Minister is unsuccessful, you will not be able to bring or maintain your own individual claim against the Minister in relation to the matters alleged in these proceedings.

All class members have the right to seek intervenor status in the class action. However, no class member other than the representative plaintiffs or an intervenor may be required to pay legal costs arising from the class action.

Additional information and questions

For any questions concerning the Authorization Order and the process that will follow, please communicate with the Class Representative's counsel:

Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Stay informed by visiting the News section of our website.

For details on the bill, please consult the website of

The national assembly.

Please receive our best regards.

QUEBEC A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

The bill Loi visant à accroître la prospérité socio-économique du Québec et à répondre adéquatement aux besoins du marché du travail par une intégration réussie des personnes immigrantes (PL9) was introduced today in the National Assembly. The goal of this bill is to establish the necessary legal basis for improving the francization and integration of selected candidates as well as a better alignment of Québec’s labour needs with the profile of selected candidates.

The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Improving the selection of immigrants

For immigration to contribute significantly to growing Québec’s prosperity and better responding to job market needs, the Ministère would like to benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the statement of interest. To do this, the bill proposes terminating most of the applications for which a decision has not yet been rendered under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and reimbursing the applicants in question so that from this point on all new applications occur by invitation of the Minister, following submission of a statement of interest.

This provision of the bill seeks, in particular, to:

ensure a better alignment between job market needs and the profile of selected candidates;

benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the declaration of interest, by inviting candidates who meet Québec’s needs;

reduce processing times for applications for permanent selection from skilled workers.

Note that applications for the addition of a spouse or a de facto spouse and applications for the addition of a child submitted by skilled workers who have already been selected are not targeted by this provision.

Strengthening Québec’s actions in the area of immigration

The Ministère wishes to pursue its efforts to fully exercise its powers of selection, particularly with the reintroduction of the enabling power that allows the Québec government to determine by regulation the conditions for permanent residence that the Minister can impose on the candidates selected. Québec also wishes to expand its scope of intervention, by ensuring better follow-up of the clients that use the services offered by its many partners.

Public consultations on the bill will begin shortly and will enable stakeholders in the milieu, such as francization, integration and immigration law organizations, to voice their opinions on the new orientations proposed by the government.

For information on the details of Bill 9 and the public consultation, consult the National Assembly’s site.

2019 Parental Sponsorship Process Announced

Get ready to submit your 2019 interest to sponsor form

The first step to sponsor your parents or grandparents is filling out the interest to sponsor form.

The interest to sponsor form will be available at noon EST on January 28, 2019.

We’ll accept form submissions on a first-in basis. As soon as we get enough submissions, the form will no longer be available.

How to fill out the form

You, the person who wants to sponsor, must fill out the form.

If you have your information ready, it should take you about 10 minutes.

We recommend you use a desktop computer.

If you make a mistake on your interest to sponsor form, don’t submit another form.

Prepare your proof of status in Canada document

We’ll accept expired documents. You don’t need to renew your document to complete the interest to sponsor form or to submit your sponsorship application.

Make sure you use the same status document with your interest to sponsor form submission as you’ll submit with your application, if you’re invited to apply.

Submit one of the following proof of status documents:

permanent resident card (both sides)

record of landing (IMM 1000) (only if you didn’t get a PR Card)

Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688)

Canadian Citizenship Certificate or card (both sides)

Canadian birth certificate

If you were born in Quebec, we’ll only accept a birth certificate from the Directeur de l’État civil.

Canadian passport (pages showing passport number, date of issue and expiration, photo, name, surname, place and date of birth)

Secure certificate of Indian status

Prepare your copy ahead of time and know where to find it on your computer or mobile device.

How to create an electronic or digital copy

You can use a scanner or camera to create a digital copy of your proof of status document. Scan or take a picture of your status in Canada document.

The maximum file size is 2.5 MB. If your file is bigger than 2.5 MB, you should reduce the size.

You can only submit 1 file with your interest to sponsor form. If you have to submit both sides of your status in Canada document, save both sides into 1 document. If you don’t have a photo editing software, the easiest way to do this is to save both images into a Microsoft Word Document.

We accept these file formats:

PDF (Portable Document)

JPG, TIFF, or PNG (image)

DOC or DOCX (Microsoft Word document)

Take note of the name you give the file and where you save it so you can easily find the file later.

To avoid delays in processing, make sure the image is clear and your information is easy to read.

After you submit your interest to sponsor form in 2019

After you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form, you’ll see a confirmation page with a confirmation number. Keep this number for your records.

We’ll also send you an email to confirm that we’ve received your form.

We’ll invite potential sponsors to submit a complete application in the same order we receive the interest to sponsor forms.

We’ll start sending invitations after we review the submissions and remove duplicates.

If you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form this year, use your confirmation number to find out if you’re invited to apply.

Increased Immigration Levels in future Years Announced by Minister of Immigration CANADA

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the new multi-year immigration levels plan for 2019-2021. This new immigration plan will benefit all Canadians because immigrants contribute to Canada’s economic growth and help keep Canada competitive in a global economy.

The new plan builds on the strong economic foundation laid out in last year’s levels plan and continues to responsibly grow the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes annually to 330,800 in 2019, 341,000 in 2020 and 350,000—nearing 1 percent of Canada’s population—in 2021.

Minister Hussen highlighted the importance of economic immigration in spurring innovation domestically. That’s why the government’s immigration plan remains focused on attracting the best and brightest from around the world with the majority of the increase in 2021 allotted to high-skilled economic immigration. Newcomers are helping Canadian companies succeed and grow in the expanding information and communications technology sector, where one third of employees are immigrants.

Canada has welcomed generations of immigrants who have brought their talents to, and are an integral part of, local communities across the country. Immigration is a central pillar of Canada’s future economic success. In addition to spurring economic growth, immigration helps address the challenges our country faces with an ageing population, and plays a crucial role in keeping our country at the forefront of the global economy.

Great News for Parental Sponsorship 2019

To help reunite even more parents and grandparents with their families in Canada, today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that the Government of Canada will accept up to 20 000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2019. This is 4 times the number of applications accepted when the program reopened in 2014, when the cap was set at 5000 applications.

This decision to increase the number of applications that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept for processing is a result of continually high demand in the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program and the fact that we have significantly reduced the inventory of applications.

New QUEBEC Skilled Worker Application intake begins August 2, 2018

New Quebec Applicants... Get Ready:

The application intake is likely to begin from August 2, 2018. The Gazette states "the date of coming into force of the provisions of the Act respecting immigration to Québec (2016, chapter 3) be set for August 2, 2018"

The new system will replace the current first-come, first-served application process for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP).

The process of applying under the Quebec Skilled Worker program, or what the government calls the Regular Skilled Worker Program, will include the following steps for candidates:

1. Submission of an Expression of Interest to settle in Quebec and entry into Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

2. Successful selection from the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank results in an invitation to apply for the QSWP.

3. Submission of an application for a Quebec Selection Certificate, or certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) to the MIDI.

4. Submission of a Canadian permanent residence application to the federal government.

After the initial step of submitting an Expression of Interest to MIDI, candidates will be entered into the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank.

Candidates who meet the requirements, cut-off thresholds and passing scores for the program will be considered for selection.

Any foreign national 18 or older may submit an expression of interest to the province.

Once in the bank, a candidate will be assigned a score based on nine factors in Quebec's QSWP Points Grid, which include skilled work experience, education and training, proficiency in French or English, financial self-sufficiency, and others. In order to be considered, all profiles will have to meet the minimum score requirement of two points awarded for a secondary school general diploma and receive the one point for financial self-sufficiency to remain in Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

Profiles that meet the initial requirements for education and financial self-sufficiency must then meet the required cut-off score of 43 points for Employability factors.

If a candidate has a spouse, his or her education and training, work experience and language proficiency will be considered toward's a candidates overall cut-off score.The Employability cut-off score for candidates with a spouse or common-law partner is 52.

Candidates in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank must also meet the minimum threshold for Selection factors, which is a passing score of 50 points (and 59 with a spouse or common-law partner). Selection factors take into consideration all Employability factors, and the addition of children and the financial self-sufficiency.

Once in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank, a candidate's profile will remain active for 12 months.

Notice Class action against the MIDI

On February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes that came into effect on August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017. In order to respect the terms of Superior Court’s of Quebec judgment, the Ministère is issuing the following notice:

CLASS ACTION AGAINST THE MINISTRY OF IMMIGRATION,DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS OF QUEBEC (THE “MIDI”)C.C.M. 500-06-000660-130 NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION AUTHORIZATION

Read this notice carefully as it may affect your legal rights.

If you applied to immigrate to Québec in the “skilled worker” class between 2009 and March 2017, you may be a member of the class action that was authorized by Justice Pepita Capriolo of the Superior Court of Québec on February 19, 2018 for the following groups of persons (the “Class Members”):

Group 1

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013;

Whose application included form A-1520-AA or A-1520-AF containing the phrase “Your application for a selection certificate will be processed based on regulations in effect when it was submitted” or similar language; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of August 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer accumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 2

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 3

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of March 8, 2017; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the "Class Representative") instituted proceedings in the Superior Court of Quebec (the "Court") seeking permission to bring a class action against the Minister on behalf of the Class (the "Application for Authorization"). On May 16, 2017, the Application for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Class Representative for Group 3.

The Application for Authorization alleges that the Minister was unjustly enriched, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Québec by failing to offer a reimbursement of application fees paid by those individuals whose CSQ applications became doomed to fail as a result of the application of August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet seek reimbursement of application fees for all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Court authorized the Class Representatives to institute a class action in the judicial District of Montreal on behalf of the Class Members, and identified the following principal issues to be dealt with collectively:

(a) Should the Minister be condemned to reimburse the fees collected for the applications of the Group Members who do not opt out of the proposed class action?

And, in particular:

(b) Were the Group Members impoverished, and the Minister enriched, in the amount of the application fees paid, the whole without juridical reason?

(c) What is the amount of the Group Members' impoverishment and the Minister's enrichment?

(d) Alternately. did the Minister commit an extra-contractual fault and act in bad faith?

I. If so, what is the amount of damages suffered by the Group Members as a direct result of the Minister's faults?

(e) In all cases, can the aggregate amount of the fees to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

I. GRANT the Petitioners' action a against Respondent;

II. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay to each Group Member who have not opted out of the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid for their applications for a selection certificate in the skilled worker category filed prior to July 8, 2013, or the fees paid for applications doomed to failure by the 2017 amendments;

III. ORDER the collective recovery of all amounts to be paid by the Respondent to the Group Members;

THE WHOLE with costs, including the costs of publication of notices.

Opting out of the class action

If you wish to remain a Class Member in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to opt out of the class action, you must advise the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days of receiving this notice by registered mail to 1 Notre-Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 1B6. If you elect to opt out, you will not be eligible for any of the benefits of an eventual judgment on the merits.

Any Class Member who does not opt out before the deadline will be bound by Judgments to follow in the class action, including any final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the action against the Minister is ultimately successful. you may be entitled to reimbursement of the fees you paid to file an application for a CSQ. If the action against the Minister is unsuccessful, you will not be able to bring or maintain your own individual claim against the Minister in relation to the matters alleged in these proceedings.

All class members have the right to seek intervenor status in the class action. However, no class member other than the representative plaintiffs or an intervenor may be required to pay legal costs arising from the class action.

Additional information and questions

For any questions concerning the Authorization Order and the process that will follow, please communicate with the Class Representative's counsel:

Notice Class Action Against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion

February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes entered into force on 1 st August 2013 and March 8 2017. In order to comply with the terms of the judgment of the Superior Court of Quebec, the Ministère diffuse the following opinion:

The purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the " Representative ") filed an application with the Superior Court of Quebec (the " Tribunal ") seeking leave of the Tribunal to institute a class action against the Minister on behalf of Group (the " Request for Authorization "). On May 16, 2017, the Request for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Group 3 Representative.

The Application for Leave alleges that the Minister was enriched without cause, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Quebec by failing to offer a reimbursement of expenses paid by individuals whose claims CSQ have become doomed to failure because of the application of the amendments from 1 st August 2013 and March 8, 2017 the weighting applicable Regulations to the selection of foreign nationals , RLRQ c I-0.2, r. 2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet request reimbursement of expenses paid by all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Tribunal authorized the Representatives to institute a class action in the District of Montreal on behalf of the Class and identified the main issues to be dealt with collectively and the related conclusions sought as follows:

(a) Should the Minister be ordered to reimburse the fees collected for CSQ applications from Class Members who did not exclude themselves from the class action?

And more particularly :

(b) Were the Group Members and the Minister respectively impoverished and enriched in the proportion of the fees paid for CSQ applications, all without any legal justification?

(c) What are the amounts of the impoverishment of the Members of the group and the enrichment of the Minister?

(d) In the alternative, did the Minister commit an extracontractual error and act in bad faith?

i. If so, what is the amount of damages incurred by the Class Members as a direct result of the Minister's mistakes?

(e) In any case, can the total amount of the costs to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

i. RECEIVE the Claimants' action against the Respondent;

ii. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay each Class Member who did not exclude from the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid by those members to file their CSQ applications in the "Skilled Worker" category before July 8th 2013, or the fees paid to file claims that have become doomed by the effect of the 2017 amendments;

iii. ORDER the collective recovery of the amounts due to the Class Members by the Respondent;

ALL with costs, including the cost of posting notices.

Exclusion of class action

If you wish to remain a member of the Group in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to exclude yourself from this class action, you must notify the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days after receiving the notice , by registered mail at 1 Notre Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec , H2Y 1B6. If you choose to exclude yourself, you will not be eligible for any benefit of a potential judgment on the merits.

Any member of the Class who does not exclude himself before the expiry of the exclusion period will be bound by any judgment rendered in the class action, including a final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the Representatives ultimately win the case against MIDI, you will be entitled to a refund of the fees you paid to file your CSQ application. In the event of failure of the class action, you will not be able to file or maintain a personal claim against MIDI in relation to the allegations in these proceedings.

All Class Members have the right to request to intervene in the class action. However, a member who is not a Representative or an intervenor may not be required to pay the legal costs of the class action.

Additional information and questions

If you have any questions about the Authorization Order or the process that will follow, please contact the attorneys of the Representatives:

Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Stay informed by visiting the News section of our website.

For details on the bill, please consult the website of

The national assembly.

Please receive our best regards.

QUEBEC A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

The bill Loi visant à accroître la prospérité socio-économique du Québec et à répondre adéquatement aux besoins du marché du travail par une intégration réussie des personnes immigrantes (PL9) was introduced today in the National Assembly. The goal of this bill is to establish the necessary legal basis for improving the francization and integration of selected candidates as well as a better alignment of Québec’s labour needs with the profile of selected candidates.

The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Improving the selection of immigrants

For immigration to contribute significantly to growing Québec’s prosperity and better responding to job market needs, the Ministère would like to benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the statement of interest. To do this, the bill proposes terminating most of the applications for which a decision has not yet been rendered under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and reimbursing the applicants in question so that from this point on all new applications occur by invitation of the Minister, following submission of a statement of interest.

This provision of the bill seeks, in particular, to:

ensure a better alignment between job market needs and the profile of selected candidates;

benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the declaration of interest, by inviting candidates who meet Québec’s needs;

reduce processing times for applications for permanent selection from skilled workers.

Note that applications for the addition of a spouse or a de facto spouse and applications for the addition of a child submitted by skilled workers who have already been selected are not targeted by this provision.

Strengthening Québec’s actions in the area of immigration

The Ministère wishes to pursue its efforts to fully exercise its powers of selection, particularly with the reintroduction of the enabling power that allows the Québec government to determine by regulation the conditions for permanent residence that the Minister can impose on the candidates selected. Québec also wishes to expand its scope of intervention, by ensuring better follow-up of the clients that use the services offered by its many partners.

Public consultations on the bill will begin shortly and will enable stakeholders in the milieu, such as francization, integration and immigration law organizations, to voice their opinions on the new orientations proposed by the government.

For information on the details of Bill 9 and the public consultation, consult the National Assembly’s site.

2019 Parental Sponsorship Process Announced

Get ready to submit your 2019 interest to sponsor form

The first step to sponsor your parents or grandparents is filling out the interest to sponsor form.

The interest to sponsor form will be available at noon EST on January 28, 2019.

We’ll accept form submissions on a first-in basis. As soon as we get enough submissions, the form will no longer be available.

How to fill out the form

You, the person who wants to sponsor, must fill out the form.

If you have your information ready, it should take you about 10 minutes.

We recommend you use a desktop computer.

If you make a mistake on your interest to sponsor form, don’t submit another form.

Prepare your proof of status in Canada document

We’ll accept expired documents. You don’t need to renew your document to complete the interest to sponsor form or to submit your sponsorship application.

Make sure you use the same status document with your interest to sponsor form submission as you’ll submit with your application, if you’re invited to apply.

Submit one of the following proof of status documents:

permanent resident card (both sides)

record of landing (IMM 1000) (only if you didn’t get a PR Card)

Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688)

Canadian Citizenship Certificate or card (both sides)

Canadian birth certificate

If you were born in Quebec, we’ll only accept a birth certificate from the Directeur de l’État civil.

Canadian passport (pages showing passport number, date of issue and expiration, photo, name, surname, place and date of birth)

Secure certificate of Indian status

Prepare your copy ahead of time and know where to find it on your computer or mobile device.

How to create an electronic or digital copy

You can use a scanner or camera to create a digital copy of your proof of status document. Scan or take a picture of your status in Canada document.

The maximum file size is 2.5 MB. If your file is bigger than 2.5 MB, you should reduce the size.

You can only submit 1 file with your interest to sponsor form. If you have to submit both sides of your status in Canada document, save both sides into 1 document. If you don’t have a photo editing software, the easiest way to do this is to save both images into a Microsoft Word Document.

We accept these file formats:

PDF (Portable Document)

JPG, TIFF, or PNG (image)

DOC or DOCX (Microsoft Word document)

Take note of the name you give the file and where you save it so you can easily find the file later.

To avoid delays in processing, make sure the image is clear and your information is easy to read.

After you submit your interest to sponsor form in 2019

After you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form, you’ll see a confirmation page with a confirmation number. Keep this number for your records.

We’ll also send you an email to confirm that we’ve received your form.

We’ll invite potential sponsors to submit a complete application in the same order we receive the interest to sponsor forms.

We’ll start sending invitations after we review the submissions and remove duplicates.

If you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form this year, use your confirmation number to find out if you’re invited to apply.

Increased Immigration Levels in future Years Announced by Minister of Immigration CANADA

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the new multi-year immigration levels plan for 2019-2021. This new immigration plan will benefit all Canadians because immigrants contribute to Canada’s economic growth and help keep Canada competitive in a global economy.

The new plan builds on the strong economic foundation laid out in last year’s levels plan and continues to responsibly grow the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes annually to 330,800 in 2019, 341,000 in 2020 and 350,000—nearing 1 percent of Canada’s population—in 2021.

Minister Hussen highlighted the importance of economic immigration in spurring innovation domestically. That’s why the government’s immigration plan remains focused on attracting the best and brightest from around the world with the majority of the increase in 2021 allotted to high-skilled economic immigration. Newcomers are helping Canadian companies succeed and grow in the expanding information and communications technology sector, where one third of employees are immigrants.

Canada has welcomed generations of immigrants who have brought their talents to, and are an integral part of, local communities across the country. Immigration is a central pillar of Canada’s future economic success. In addition to spurring economic growth, immigration helps address the challenges our country faces with an ageing population, and plays a crucial role in keeping our country at the forefront of the global economy.

Great News for Parental Sponsorship 2019

To help reunite even more parents and grandparents with their families in Canada, today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that the Government of Canada will accept up to 20 000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2019. This is 4 times the number of applications accepted when the program reopened in 2014, when the cap was set at 5000 applications.

This decision to increase the number of applications that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept for processing is a result of continually high demand in the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program and the fact that we have significantly reduced the inventory of applications.

New QUEBEC Skilled Worker Application intake begins August 2, 2018

New Quebec Applicants... Get Ready:

The application intake is likely to begin from August 2, 2018. The Gazette states "the date of coming into force of the provisions of the Act respecting immigration to Québec (2016, chapter 3) be set for August 2, 2018"

The new system will replace the current first-come, first-served application process for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP).

The process of applying under the Quebec Skilled Worker program, or what the government calls the Regular Skilled Worker Program, will include the following steps for candidates:

1. Submission of an Expression of Interest to settle in Quebec and entry into Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

2. Successful selection from the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank results in an invitation to apply for the QSWP.

3. Submission of an application for a Quebec Selection Certificate, or certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) to the MIDI.

4. Submission of a Canadian permanent residence application to the federal government.

After the initial step of submitting an Expression of Interest to MIDI, candidates will be entered into the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank.

Candidates who meet the requirements, cut-off thresholds and passing scores for the program will be considered for selection.

Any foreign national 18 or older may submit an expression of interest to the province.

Once in the bank, a candidate will be assigned a score based on nine factors in Quebec's QSWP Points Grid, which include skilled work experience, education and training, proficiency in French or English, financial self-sufficiency, and others. In order to be considered, all profiles will have to meet the minimum score requirement of two points awarded for a secondary school general diploma and receive the one point for financial self-sufficiency to remain in Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

Profiles that meet the initial requirements for education and financial self-sufficiency must then meet the required cut-off score of 43 points for Employability factors.

If a candidate has a spouse, his or her education and training, work experience and language proficiency will be considered toward's a candidates overall cut-off score.The Employability cut-off score for candidates with a spouse or common-law partner is 52.

Candidates in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank must also meet the minimum threshold for Selection factors, which is a passing score of 50 points (and 59 with a spouse or common-law partner). Selection factors take into consideration all Employability factors, and the addition of children and the financial self-sufficiency.

Once in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank, a candidate's profile will remain active for 12 months.

Notice Class action against the MIDI

On February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes that came into effect on August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017. In order to respect the terms of Superior Court’s of Quebec judgment, the Ministère is issuing the following notice:

CLASS ACTION AGAINST THE MINISTRY OF IMMIGRATION,DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS OF QUEBEC (THE “MIDI”)C.C.M. 500-06-000660-130 NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION AUTHORIZATION

Read this notice carefully as it may affect your legal rights.

If you applied to immigrate to Québec in the “skilled worker” class between 2009 and March 2017, you may be a member of the class action that was authorized by Justice Pepita Capriolo of the Superior Court of Québec on February 19, 2018 for the following groups of persons (the “Class Members”):

Group 1

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013;

Whose application included form A-1520-AA or A-1520-AF containing the phrase “Your application for a selection certificate will be processed based on regulations in effect when it was submitted” or similar language; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of August 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer accumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 2

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 3

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of March 8, 2017; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the "Class Representative") instituted proceedings in the Superior Court of Quebec (the "Court") seeking permission to bring a class action against the Minister on behalf of the Class (the "Application for Authorization"). On May 16, 2017, the Application for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Class Representative for Group 3.

The Application for Authorization alleges that the Minister was unjustly enriched, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Québec by failing to offer a reimbursement of application fees paid by those individuals whose CSQ applications became doomed to fail as a result of the application of August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet seek reimbursement of application fees for all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Court authorized the Class Representatives to institute a class action in the judicial District of Montreal on behalf of the Class Members, and identified the following principal issues to be dealt with collectively:

(a) Should the Minister be condemned to reimburse the fees collected for the applications of the Group Members who do not opt out of the proposed class action?

And, in particular:

(b) Were the Group Members impoverished, and the Minister enriched, in the amount of the application fees paid, the whole without juridical reason?

(c) What is the amount of the Group Members' impoverishment and the Minister's enrichment?

(d) Alternately. did the Minister commit an extra-contractual fault and act in bad faith?

I. If so, what is the amount of damages suffered by the Group Members as a direct result of the Minister's faults?

(e) In all cases, can the aggregate amount of the fees to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

I. GRANT the Petitioners' action a against Respondent;

II. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay to each Group Member who have not opted out of the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid for their applications for a selection certificate in the skilled worker category filed prior to July 8, 2013, or the fees paid for applications doomed to failure by the 2017 amendments;

III. ORDER the collective recovery of all amounts to be paid by the Respondent to the Group Members;

THE WHOLE with costs, including the costs of publication of notices.

Opting out of the class action

If you wish to remain a Class Member in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to opt out of the class action, you must advise the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days of receiving this notice by registered mail to 1 Notre-Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 1B6. If you elect to opt out, you will not be eligible for any of the benefits of an eventual judgment on the merits.

Any Class Member who does not opt out before the deadline will be bound by Judgments to follow in the class action, including any final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the action against the Minister is ultimately successful. you may be entitled to reimbursement of the fees you paid to file an application for a CSQ. If the action against the Minister is unsuccessful, you will not be able to bring or maintain your own individual claim against the Minister in relation to the matters alleged in these proceedings.

All class members have the right to seek intervenor status in the class action. However, no class member other than the representative plaintiffs or an intervenor may be required to pay legal costs arising from the class action.

Additional information and questions

For any questions concerning the Authorization Order and the process that will follow, please communicate with the Class Representative's counsel:

Notice Class Action Against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion

February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes entered into force on 1 st August 2013 and March 8 2017. In order to comply with the terms of the judgment of the Superior Court of Quebec, the Ministère diffuse the following opinion:

The purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the " Representative ") filed an application with the Superior Court of Quebec (the " Tribunal ") seeking leave of the Tribunal to institute a class action against the Minister on behalf of Group (the " Request for Authorization "). On May 16, 2017, the Request for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Group 3 Representative.

The Application for Leave alleges that the Minister was enriched without cause, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Quebec by failing to offer a reimbursement of expenses paid by individuals whose claims CSQ have become doomed to failure because of the application of the amendments from 1 st August 2013 and March 8, 2017 the weighting applicable Regulations to the selection of foreign nationals , RLRQ c I-0.2, r. 2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet request reimbursement of expenses paid by all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Tribunal authorized the Representatives to institute a class action in the District of Montreal on behalf of the Class and identified the main issues to be dealt with collectively and the related conclusions sought as follows:

(a) Should the Minister be ordered to reimburse the fees collected for CSQ applications from Class Members who did not exclude themselves from the class action?

And more particularly :

(b) Were the Group Members and the Minister respectively impoverished and enriched in the proportion of the fees paid for CSQ applications, all without any legal justification?

(c) What are the amounts of the impoverishment of the Members of the group and the enrichment of the Minister?

(d) In the alternative, did the Minister commit an extracontractual error and act in bad faith?

i. If so, what is the amount of damages incurred by the Class Members as a direct result of the Minister's mistakes?

(e) In any case, can the total amount of the costs to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

i. RECEIVE the Claimants' action against the Respondent;

ii. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay each Class Member who did not exclude from the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid by those members to file their CSQ applications in the "Skilled Worker" category before July 8th 2013, or the fees paid to file claims that have become doomed by the effect of the 2017 amendments;

iii. ORDER the collective recovery of the amounts due to the Class Members by the Respondent;

ALL with costs, including the cost of posting notices.

Exclusion of class action

If you wish to remain a member of the Group in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to exclude yourself from this class action, you must notify the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days after receiving the notice , by registered mail at 1 Notre Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec , H2Y 1B6. If you choose to exclude yourself, you will not be eligible for any benefit of a potential judgment on the merits.

Any member of the Class who does not exclude himself before the expiry of the exclusion period will be bound by any judgment rendered in the class action, including a final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the Representatives ultimately win the case against MIDI, you will be entitled to a refund of the fees you paid to file your CSQ application. In the event of failure of the class action, you will not be able to file or maintain a personal claim against MIDI in relation to the allegations in these proceedings.

All Class Members have the right to request to intervene in the class action. However, a member who is not a Representative or an intervenor may not be required to pay the legal costs of the class action.

Additional information and questions

If you have any questions about the Authorization Order or the process that will follow, please contact the attorneys of the Representatives:

Government of Canada brings medical inadmissibility policy in line with inclusivity for persons with disabilities

April 16, 2018 – Ottawa, ON – One of the Government of Canada’s priorities is to ensure greater accessibility and opportunities for Canadians with disabilities. Today’s announcement by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen of changes to the medical inadmissibility provision of theImmigration and Refugee Protection Actensures that our immigration policies better align with Canadian values and reflect the importance that the Government places on the inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Under the 40-year-old policy, applicants could be found medically inadmissible to Canada based on a set of criteria out of step with a 21st century approach to persons with disabilities. Most of those affected are individuals who would otherwise be approved in the economic immigration class, and selected for the benefit their skills will bring to the Canadian economy.

While the number of refusals under this provision was not high, it resulted in cases where applicants or their children were refused despite the fact their health condition or disability was one readily accommodated in Canadian society.

The new policy on medical inadmissibility strikes a balance between protecting publicly funded health and social services and updating the policy to bring it in line with current views on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. The changes include:

increasing the cost threshold for medical inadmissibility to 3 times the previous level, and

amending the definition of social services by removing references to special education, social and vocational rehabilitation services and personal support services.

Increasing the cost threshold will facilitate immigration for applicants with health conditions that typically require a limited range of health and social services and have relatively low health and social services costs. It is expected that this would dispense with a majority of the medical inadmissibility cases seen in Canada today.

Amending the definition of social services will bring the policy in line with Canadian values on supporting the participation of persons with disabilities in society, while continuing to protect publicly funded health and social services. This would also benefit applicants with intellectual disabilities, applicants with hearing or visual impairments, and others.

The Government has been reviewing all elements of the medical inadmissibility provisions since 2016. This included meetings with provincial and territorial governments, and discussions with stakeholders.

In addition, the issue was studied by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, which recommended eliminating the policy. Going forward, the Government agrees with the Standing Committee’s recommendation to eliminate the policy and will collaborate with provinces and territories towards its full elimination.

Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Stay informed by visiting the News section of our website.

For details on the bill, please consult the website of

The national assembly.

Please receive our best regards.

QUEBEC A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

The bill Loi visant à accroître la prospérité socio-économique du Québec et à répondre adéquatement aux besoins du marché du travail par une intégration réussie des personnes immigrantes (PL9) was introduced today in the National Assembly. The goal of this bill is to establish the necessary legal basis for improving the francization and integration of selected candidates as well as a better alignment of Québec’s labour needs with the profile of selected candidates.

The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Improving the selection of immigrants

For immigration to contribute significantly to growing Québec’s prosperity and better responding to job market needs, the Ministère would like to benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the statement of interest. To do this, the bill proposes terminating most of the applications for which a decision has not yet been rendered under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and reimbursing the applicants in question so that from this point on all new applications occur by invitation of the Minister, following submission of a statement of interest.

This provision of the bill seeks, in particular, to:

ensure a better alignment between job market needs and the profile of selected candidates;

benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the declaration of interest, by inviting candidates who meet Québec’s needs;

reduce processing times for applications for permanent selection from skilled workers.

Note that applications for the addition of a spouse or a de facto spouse and applications for the addition of a child submitted by skilled workers who have already been selected are not targeted by this provision.

Strengthening Québec’s actions in the area of immigration

The Ministère wishes to pursue its efforts to fully exercise its powers of selection, particularly with the reintroduction of the enabling power that allows the Québec government to determine by regulation the conditions for permanent residence that the Minister can impose on the candidates selected. Québec also wishes to expand its scope of intervention, by ensuring better follow-up of the clients that use the services offered by its many partners.

Public consultations on the bill will begin shortly and will enable stakeholders in the milieu, such as francization, integration and immigration law organizations, to voice their opinions on the new orientations proposed by the government.

For information on the details of Bill 9 and the public consultation, consult the National Assembly’s site.

2019 Parental Sponsorship Process Announced

Get ready to submit your 2019 interest to sponsor form

The first step to sponsor your parents or grandparents is filling out the interest to sponsor form.

The interest to sponsor form will be available at noon EST on January 28, 2019.

We’ll accept form submissions on a first-in basis. As soon as we get enough submissions, the form will no longer be available.

How to fill out the form

You, the person who wants to sponsor, must fill out the form.

If you have your information ready, it should take you about 10 minutes.

We recommend you use a desktop computer.

If you make a mistake on your interest to sponsor form, don’t submit another form.

Prepare your proof of status in Canada document

We’ll accept expired documents. You don’t need to renew your document to complete the interest to sponsor form or to submit your sponsorship application.

Make sure you use the same status document with your interest to sponsor form submission as you’ll submit with your application, if you’re invited to apply.

Submit one of the following proof of status documents:

permanent resident card (both sides)

record of landing (IMM 1000) (only if you didn’t get a PR Card)

Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688)

Canadian Citizenship Certificate or card (both sides)

Canadian birth certificate

If you were born in Quebec, we’ll only accept a birth certificate from the Directeur de l’État civil.

Canadian passport (pages showing passport number, date of issue and expiration, photo, name, surname, place and date of birth)

Secure certificate of Indian status

Prepare your copy ahead of time and know where to find it on your computer or mobile device.

How to create an electronic or digital copy

You can use a scanner or camera to create a digital copy of your proof of status document. Scan or take a picture of your status in Canada document.

The maximum file size is 2.5 MB. If your file is bigger than 2.5 MB, you should reduce the size.

You can only submit 1 file with your interest to sponsor form. If you have to submit both sides of your status in Canada document, save both sides into 1 document. If you don’t have a photo editing software, the easiest way to do this is to save both images into a Microsoft Word Document.

We accept these file formats:

PDF (Portable Document)

JPG, TIFF, or PNG (image)

DOC or DOCX (Microsoft Word document)

Take note of the name you give the file and where you save it so you can easily find the file later.

To avoid delays in processing, make sure the image is clear and your information is easy to read.

After you submit your interest to sponsor form in 2019

After you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form, you’ll see a confirmation page with a confirmation number. Keep this number for your records.

We’ll also send you an email to confirm that we’ve received your form.

We’ll invite potential sponsors to submit a complete application in the same order we receive the interest to sponsor forms.

We’ll start sending invitations after we review the submissions and remove duplicates.

If you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form this year, use your confirmation number to find out if you’re invited to apply.

Increased Immigration Levels in future Years Announced by Minister of Immigration CANADA

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the new multi-year immigration levels plan for 2019-2021. This new immigration plan will benefit all Canadians because immigrants contribute to Canada’s economic growth and help keep Canada competitive in a global economy.

The new plan builds on the strong economic foundation laid out in last year’s levels plan and continues to responsibly grow the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes annually to 330,800 in 2019, 341,000 in 2020 and 350,000—nearing 1 percent of Canada’s population—in 2021.

Minister Hussen highlighted the importance of economic immigration in spurring innovation domestically. That’s why the government’s immigration plan remains focused on attracting the best and brightest from around the world with the majority of the increase in 2021 allotted to high-skilled economic immigration. Newcomers are helping Canadian companies succeed and grow in the expanding information and communications technology sector, where one third of employees are immigrants.

Canada has welcomed generations of immigrants who have brought their talents to, and are an integral part of, local communities across the country. Immigration is a central pillar of Canada’s future economic success. In addition to spurring economic growth, immigration helps address the challenges our country faces with an ageing population, and plays a crucial role in keeping our country at the forefront of the global economy.

Great News for Parental Sponsorship 2019

To help reunite even more parents and grandparents with their families in Canada, today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that the Government of Canada will accept up to 20 000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2019. This is 4 times the number of applications accepted when the program reopened in 2014, when the cap was set at 5000 applications.

This decision to increase the number of applications that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept for processing is a result of continually high demand in the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program and the fact that we have significantly reduced the inventory of applications.

New QUEBEC Skilled Worker Application intake begins August 2, 2018

New Quebec Applicants... Get Ready:

The application intake is likely to begin from August 2, 2018. The Gazette states "the date of coming into force of the provisions of the Act respecting immigration to Québec (2016, chapter 3) be set for August 2, 2018"

The new system will replace the current first-come, first-served application process for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP).

The process of applying under the Quebec Skilled Worker program, or what the government calls the Regular Skilled Worker Program, will include the following steps for candidates:

1. Submission of an Expression of Interest to settle in Quebec and entry into Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

2. Successful selection from the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank results in an invitation to apply for the QSWP.

3. Submission of an application for a Quebec Selection Certificate, or certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) to the MIDI.

4. Submission of a Canadian permanent residence application to the federal government.

After the initial step of submitting an Expression of Interest to MIDI, candidates will be entered into the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank.

Candidates who meet the requirements, cut-off thresholds and passing scores for the program will be considered for selection.

Any foreign national 18 or older may submit an expression of interest to the province.

Once in the bank, a candidate will be assigned a score based on nine factors in Quebec's QSWP Points Grid, which include skilled work experience, education and training, proficiency in French or English, financial self-sufficiency, and others. In order to be considered, all profiles will have to meet the minimum score requirement of two points awarded for a secondary school general diploma and receive the one point for financial self-sufficiency to remain in Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

Profiles that meet the initial requirements for education and financial self-sufficiency must then meet the required cut-off score of 43 points for Employability factors.

If a candidate has a spouse, his or her education and training, work experience and language proficiency will be considered toward's a candidates overall cut-off score.The Employability cut-off score for candidates with a spouse or common-law partner is 52.

Candidates in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank must also meet the minimum threshold for Selection factors, which is a passing score of 50 points (and 59 with a spouse or common-law partner). Selection factors take into consideration all Employability factors, and the addition of children and the financial self-sufficiency.

Once in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank, a candidate's profile will remain active for 12 months.

Notice Class action against the MIDI

On February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes that came into effect on August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017. In order to respect the terms of Superior Court’s of Quebec judgment, the Ministère is issuing the following notice:

CLASS ACTION AGAINST THE MINISTRY OF IMMIGRATION,DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS OF QUEBEC (THE “MIDI”)C.C.M. 500-06-000660-130 NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION AUTHORIZATION

Read this notice carefully as it may affect your legal rights.

If you applied to immigrate to Québec in the “skilled worker” class between 2009 and March 2017, you may be a member of the class action that was authorized by Justice Pepita Capriolo of the Superior Court of Québec on February 19, 2018 for the following groups of persons (the “Class Members”):

Group 1

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013;

Whose application included form A-1520-AA or A-1520-AF containing the phrase “Your application for a selection certificate will be processed based on regulations in effect when it was submitted” or similar language; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of August 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer accumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 2

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 3

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of March 8, 2017; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the "Class Representative") instituted proceedings in the Superior Court of Quebec (the "Court") seeking permission to bring a class action against the Minister on behalf of the Class (the "Application for Authorization"). On May 16, 2017, the Application for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Class Representative for Group 3.

The Application for Authorization alleges that the Minister was unjustly enriched, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Québec by failing to offer a reimbursement of application fees paid by those individuals whose CSQ applications became doomed to fail as a result of the application of August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet seek reimbursement of application fees for all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Court authorized the Class Representatives to institute a class action in the judicial District of Montreal on behalf of the Class Members, and identified the following principal issues to be dealt with collectively:

(a) Should the Minister be condemned to reimburse the fees collected for the applications of the Group Members who do not opt out of the proposed class action?

And, in particular:

(b) Were the Group Members impoverished, and the Minister enriched, in the amount of the application fees paid, the whole without juridical reason?

(c) What is the amount of the Group Members' impoverishment and the Minister's enrichment?

(d) Alternately. did the Minister commit an extra-contractual fault and act in bad faith?

I. If so, what is the amount of damages suffered by the Group Members as a direct result of the Minister's faults?

(e) In all cases, can the aggregate amount of the fees to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

I. GRANT the Petitioners' action a against Respondent;

II. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay to each Group Member who have not opted out of the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid for their applications for a selection certificate in the skilled worker category filed prior to July 8, 2013, or the fees paid for applications doomed to failure by the 2017 amendments;

III. ORDER the collective recovery of all amounts to be paid by the Respondent to the Group Members;

THE WHOLE with costs, including the costs of publication of notices.

Opting out of the class action

If you wish to remain a Class Member in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to opt out of the class action, you must advise the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days of receiving this notice by registered mail to 1 Notre-Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 1B6. If you elect to opt out, you will not be eligible for any of the benefits of an eventual judgment on the merits.

Any Class Member who does not opt out before the deadline will be bound by Judgments to follow in the class action, including any final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the action against the Minister is ultimately successful. you may be entitled to reimbursement of the fees you paid to file an application for a CSQ. If the action against the Minister is unsuccessful, you will not be able to bring or maintain your own individual claim against the Minister in relation to the matters alleged in these proceedings.

All class members have the right to seek intervenor status in the class action. However, no class member other than the representative plaintiffs or an intervenor may be required to pay legal costs arising from the class action.

Additional information and questions

For any questions concerning the Authorization Order and the process that will follow, please communicate with the Class Representative's counsel:

Notice Class Action Against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion

February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes entered into force on 1 st August 2013 and March 8 2017. In order to comply with the terms of the judgment of the Superior Court of Quebec, the Ministère diffuse the following opinion:

The purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the " Representative ") filed an application with the Superior Court of Quebec (the " Tribunal ") seeking leave of the Tribunal to institute a class action against the Minister on behalf of Group (the " Request for Authorization "). On May 16, 2017, the Request for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Group 3 Representative.

The Application for Leave alleges that the Minister was enriched without cause, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Quebec by failing to offer a reimbursement of expenses paid by individuals whose claims CSQ have become doomed to failure because of the application of the amendments from 1 st August 2013 and March 8, 2017 the weighting applicable Regulations to the selection of foreign nationals , RLRQ c I-0.2, r. 2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet request reimbursement of expenses paid by all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Tribunal authorized the Representatives to institute a class action in the District of Montreal on behalf of the Class and identified the main issues to be dealt with collectively and the related conclusions sought as follows:

(a) Should the Minister be ordered to reimburse the fees collected for CSQ applications from Class Members who did not exclude themselves from the class action?

And more particularly :

(b) Were the Group Members and the Minister respectively impoverished and enriched in the proportion of the fees paid for CSQ applications, all without any legal justification?

(c) What are the amounts of the impoverishment of the Members of the group and the enrichment of the Minister?

(d) In the alternative, did the Minister commit an extracontractual error and act in bad faith?

i. If so, what is the amount of damages incurred by the Class Members as a direct result of the Minister's mistakes?

(e) In any case, can the total amount of the costs to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

i. RECEIVE the Claimants' action against the Respondent;

ii. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay each Class Member who did not exclude from the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid by those members to file their CSQ applications in the "Skilled Worker" category before July 8th 2013, or the fees paid to file claims that have become doomed by the effect of the 2017 amendments;

iii. ORDER the collective recovery of the amounts due to the Class Members by the Respondent;

ALL with costs, including the cost of posting notices.

Exclusion of class action

If you wish to remain a member of the Group in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to exclude yourself from this class action, you must notify the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days after receiving the notice , by registered mail at 1 Notre Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec , H2Y 1B6. If you choose to exclude yourself, you will not be eligible for any benefit of a potential judgment on the merits.

Any member of the Class who does not exclude himself before the expiry of the exclusion period will be bound by any judgment rendered in the class action, including a final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the Representatives ultimately win the case against MIDI, you will be entitled to a refund of the fees you paid to file your CSQ application. In the event of failure of the class action, you will not be able to file or maintain a personal claim against MIDI in relation to the allegations in these proceedings.

All Class Members have the right to request to intervene in the class action. However, a member who is not a Representative or an intervenor may not be required to pay the legal costs of the class action.

Additional information and questions

If you have any questions about the Authorization Order or the process that will follow, please contact the attorneys of the Representatives:

Government of Canada brings medical inadmissibility policy in line with inclusivity for persons with disabilities

April 16, 2018 – Ottawa, ON – One of the Government of Canada’s priorities is to ensure greater accessibility and opportunities for Canadians with disabilities. Today’s announcement by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen of changes to the medical inadmissibility provision of theImmigration and Refugee Protection Actensures that our immigration policies better align with Canadian values and reflect the importance that the Government places on the inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Under the 40-year-old policy, applicants could be found medically inadmissible to Canada based on a set of criteria out of step with a 21st century approach to persons with disabilities. Most of those affected are individuals who would otherwise be approved in the economic immigration class, and selected for the benefit their skills will bring to the Canadian economy.

While the number of refusals under this provision was not high, it resulted in cases where applicants or their children were refused despite the fact their health condition or disability was one readily accommodated in Canadian society.

The new policy on medical inadmissibility strikes a balance between protecting publicly funded health and social services and updating the policy to bring it in line with current views on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. The changes include:

increasing the cost threshold for medical inadmissibility to 3 times the previous level, and

amending the definition of social services by removing references to special education, social and vocational rehabilitation services and personal support services.

Increasing the cost threshold will facilitate immigration for applicants with health conditions that typically require a limited range of health and social services and have relatively low health and social services costs. It is expected that this would dispense with a majority of the medical inadmissibility cases seen in Canada today.

Amending the definition of social services will bring the policy in line with Canadian values on supporting the participation of persons with disabilities in society, while continuing to protect publicly funded health and social services. This would also benefit applicants with intellectual disabilities, applicants with hearing or visual impairments, and others.

The Government has been reviewing all elements of the medical inadmissibility provisions since 2016. This included meetings with provincial and territorial governments, and discussions with stakeholders.

In addition, the issue was studied by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, which recommended eliminating the policy. Going forward, the Government agrees with the Standing Committee’s recommendation to eliminate the policy and will collaborate with provinces and territories towards its full elimination.

Find out if you are selected to apply to sponsor your parent and grandparent

Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Stay informed by visiting the News section of our website.

For details on the bill, please consult the website of

The national assembly.

Please receive our best regards.

QUEBEC A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

The bill Loi visant à accroître la prospérité socio-économique du Québec et à répondre adéquatement aux besoins du marché du travail par une intégration réussie des personnes immigrantes (PL9) was introduced today in the National Assembly. The goal of this bill is to establish the necessary legal basis for improving the francization and integration of selected candidates as well as a better alignment of Québec’s labour needs with the profile of selected candidates.

The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Improving the selection of immigrants

For immigration to contribute significantly to growing Québec’s prosperity and better responding to job market needs, the Ministère would like to benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the statement of interest. To do this, the bill proposes terminating most of the applications for which a decision has not yet been rendered under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and reimbursing the applicants in question so that from this point on all new applications occur by invitation of the Minister, following submission of a statement of interest.

This provision of the bill seeks, in particular, to:

ensure a better alignment between job market needs and the profile of selected candidates;

benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the declaration of interest, by inviting candidates who meet Québec’s needs;

reduce processing times for applications for permanent selection from skilled workers.

Note that applications for the addition of a spouse or a de facto spouse and applications for the addition of a child submitted by skilled workers who have already been selected are not targeted by this provision.

Strengthening Québec’s actions in the area of immigration

The Ministère wishes to pursue its efforts to fully exercise its powers of selection, particularly with the reintroduction of the enabling power that allows the Québec government to determine by regulation the conditions for permanent residence that the Minister can impose on the candidates selected. Québec also wishes to expand its scope of intervention, by ensuring better follow-up of the clients that use the services offered by its many partners.

Public consultations on the bill will begin shortly and will enable stakeholders in the milieu, such as francization, integration and immigration law organizations, to voice their opinions on the new orientations proposed by the government.

For information on the details of Bill 9 and the public consultation, consult the National Assembly’s site.

2019 Parental Sponsorship Process Announced

Get ready to submit your 2019 interest to sponsor form

The first step to sponsor your parents or grandparents is filling out the interest to sponsor form.

The interest to sponsor form will be available at noon EST on January 28, 2019.

We’ll accept form submissions on a first-in basis. As soon as we get enough submissions, the form will no longer be available.

How to fill out the form

You, the person who wants to sponsor, must fill out the form.

If you have your information ready, it should take you about 10 minutes.

We recommend you use a desktop computer.

If you make a mistake on your interest to sponsor form, don’t submit another form.

Prepare your proof of status in Canada document

We’ll accept expired documents. You don’t need to renew your document to complete the interest to sponsor form or to submit your sponsorship application.

Make sure you use the same status document with your interest to sponsor form submission as you’ll submit with your application, if you’re invited to apply.

Submit one of the following proof of status documents:

permanent resident card (both sides)

record of landing (IMM 1000) (only if you didn’t get a PR Card)

Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688)

Canadian Citizenship Certificate or card (both sides)

Canadian birth certificate

If you were born in Quebec, we’ll only accept a birth certificate from the Directeur de l’État civil.

Canadian passport (pages showing passport number, date of issue and expiration, photo, name, surname, place and date of birth)

Secure certificate of Indian status

Prepare your copy ahead of time and know where to find it on your computer or mobile device.

How to create an electronic or digital copy

You can use a scanner or camera to create a digital copy of your proof of status document. Scan or take a picture of your status in Canada document.

The maximum file size is 2.5 MB. If your file is bigger than 2.5 MB, you should reduce the size.

You can only submit 1 file with your interest to sponsor form. If you have to submit both sides of your status in Canada document, save both sides into 1 document. If you don’t have a photo editing software, the easiest way to do this is to save both images into a Microsoft Word Document.

We accept these file formats:

PDF (Portable Document)

JPG, TIFF, or PNG (image)

DOC or DOCX (Microsoft Word document)

Take note of the name you give the file and where you save it so you can easily find the file later.

To avoid delays in processing, make sure the image is clear and your information is easy to read.

After you submit your interest to sponsor form in 2019

After you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form, you’ll see a confirmation page with a confirmation number. Keep this number for your records.

We’ll also send you an email to confirm that we’ve received your form.

We’ll invite potential sponsors to submit a complete application in the same order we receive the interest to sponsor forms.

We’ll start sending invitations after we review the submissions and remove duplicates.

If you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form this year, use your confirmation number to find out if you’re invited to apply.

Increased Immigration Levels in future Years Announced by Minister of Immigration CANADA

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the new multi-year immigration levels plan for 2019-2021. This new immigration plan will benefit all Canadians because immigrants contribute to Canada’s economic growth and help keep Canada competitive in a global economy.

The new plan builds on the strong economic foundation laid out in last year’s levels plan and continues to responsibly grow the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes annually to 330,800 in 2019, 341,000 in 2020 and 350,000—nearing 1 percent of Canada’s population—in 2021.

Minister Hussen highlighted the importance of economic immigration in spurring innovation domestically. That’s why the government’s immigration plan remains focused on attracting the best and brightest from around the world with the majority of the increase in 2021 allotted to high-skilled economic immigration. Newcomers are helping Canadian companies succeed and grow in the expanding information and communications technology sector, where one third of employees are immigrants.

Canada has welcomed generations of immigrants who have brought their talents to, and are an integral part of, local communities across the country. Immigration is a central pillar of Canada’s future economic success. In addition to spurring economic growth, immigration helps address the challenges our country faces with an ageing population, and plays a crucial role in keeping our country at the forefront of the global economy.

Great News for Parental Sponsorship 2019

To help reunite even more parents and grandparents with their families in Canada, today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that the Government of Canada will accept up to 20 000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2019. This is 4 times the number of applications accepted when the program reopened in 2014, when the cap was set at 5000 applications.

This decision to increase the number of applications that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept for processing is a result of continually high demand in the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program and the fact that we have significantly reduced the inventory of applications.

New QUEBEC Skilled Worker Application intake begins August 2, 2018

New Quebec Applicants... Get Ready:

The application intake is likely to begin from August 2, 2018. The Gazette states "the date of coming into force of the provisions of the Act respecting immigration to Québec (2016, chapter 3) be set for August 2, 2018"

The new system will replace the current first-come, first-served application process for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP).

The process of applying under the Quebec Skilled Worker program, or what the government calls the Regular Skilled Worker Program, will include the following steps for candidates:

1. Submission of an Expression of Interest to settle in Quebec and entry into Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

2. Successful selection from the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank results in an invitation to apply for the QSWP.

3. Submission of an application for a Quebec Selection Certificate, or certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) to the MIDI.

4. Submission of a Canadian permanent residence application to the federal government.

After the initial step of submitting an Expression of Interest to MIDI, candidates will be entered into the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank.

Candidates who meet the requirements, cut-off thresholds and passing scores for the program will be considered for selection.

Any foreign national 18 or older may submit an expression of interest to the province.

Once in the bank, a candidate will be assigned a score based on nine factors in Quebec's QSWP Points Grid, which include skilled work experience, education and training, proficiency in French or English, financial self-sufficiency, and others. In order to be considered, all profiles will have to meet the minimum score requirement of two points awarded for a secondary school general diploma and receive the one point for financial self-sufficiency to remain in Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

Profiles that meet the initial requirements for education and financial self-sufficiency must then meet the required cut-off score of 43 points for Employability factors.

If a candidate has a spouse, his or her education and training, work experience and language proficiency will be considered toward's a candidates overall cut-off score.The Employability cut-off score for candidates with a spouse or common-law partner is 52.

Candidates in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank must also meet the minimum threshold for Selection factors, which is a passing score of 50 points (and 59 with a spouse or common-law partner). Selection factors take into consideration all Employability factors, and the addition of children and the financial self-sufficiency.

Once in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank, a candidate's profile will remain active for 12 months.

Notice Class action against the MIDI

On February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes that came into effect on August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017. In order to respect the terms of Superior Court’s of Quebec judgment, the Ministère is issuing the following notice:

CLASS ACTION AGAINST THE MINISTRY OF IMMIGRATION,DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS OF QUEBEC (THE “MIDI”)C.C.M. 500-06-000660-130 NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION AUTHORIZATION

Read this notice carefully as it may affect your legal rights.

If you applied to immigrate to Québec in the “skilled worker” class between 2009 and March 2017, you may be a member of the class action that was authorized by Justice Pepita Capriolo of the Superior Court of Québec on February 19, 2018 for the following groups of persons (the “Class Members”):

Group 1

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013;

Whose application included form A-1520-AA or A-1520-AF containing the phrase “Your application for a selection certificate will be processed based on regulations in effect when it was submitted” or similar language; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of August 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer accumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 2

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 3

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of March 8, 2017; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the "Class Representative") instituted proceedings in the Superior Court of Quebec (the "Court") seeking permission to bring a class action against the Minister on behalf of the Class (the "Application for Authorization"). On May 16, 2017, the Application for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Class Representative for Group 3.

The Application for Authorization alleges that the Minister was unjustly enriched, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Québec by failing to offer a reimbursement of application fees paid by those individuals whose CSQ applications became doomed to fail as a result of the application of August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet seek reimbursement of application fees for all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Court authorized the Class Representatives to institute a class action in the judicial District of Montreal on behalf of the Class Members, and identified the following principal issues to be dealt with collectively:

(a) Should the Minister be condemned to reimburse the fees collected for the applications of the Group Members who do not opt out of the proposed class action?

And, in particular:

(b) Were the Group Members impoverished, and the Minister enriched, in the amount of the application fees paid, the whole without juridical reason?

(c) What is the amount of the Group Members' impoverishment and the Minister's enrichment?

(d) Alternately. did the Minister commit an extra-contractual fault and act in bad faith?

I. If so, what is the amount of damages suffered by the Group Members as a direct result of the Minister's faults?

(e) In all cases, can the aggregate amount of the fees to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

I. GRANT the Petitioners' action a against Respondent;

II. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay to each Group Member who have not opted out of the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid for their applications for a selection certificate in the skilled worker category filed prior to July 8, 2013, or the fees paid for applications doomed to failure by the 2017 amendments;

III. ORDER the collective recovery of all amounts to be paid by the Respondent to the Group Members;

THE WHOLE with costs, including the costs of publication of notices.

Opting out of the class action

If you wish to remain a Class Member in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to opt out of the class action, you must advise the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days of receiving this notice by registered mail to 1 Notre-Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 1B6. If you elect to opt out, you will not be eligible for any of the benefits of an eventual judgment on the merits.

Any Class Member who does not opt out before the deadline will be bound by Judgments to follow in the class action, including any final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the action against the Minister is ultimately successful. you may be entitled to reimbursement of the fees you paid to file an application for a CSQ. If the action against the Minister is unsuccessful, you will not be able to bring or maintain your own individual claim against the Minister in relation to the matters alleged in these proceedings.

All class members have the right to seek intervenor status in the class action. However, no class member other than the representative plaintiffs or an intervenor may be required to pay legal costs arising from the class action.

Additional information and questions

For any questions concerning the Authorization Order and the process that will follow, please communicate with the Class Representative's counsel:

Notice Class Action Against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion

February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes entered into force on 1 st August 2013 and March 8 2017. In order to comply with the terms of the judgment of the Superior Court of Quebec, the Ministère diffuse the following opinion:

The purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the " Representative ") filed an application with the Superior Court of Quebec (the " Tribunal ") seeking leave of the Tribunal to institute a class action against the Minister on behalf of Group (the " Request for Authorization "). On May 16, 2017, the Request for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Group 3 Representative.

The Application for Leave alleges that the Minister was enriched without cause, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Quebec by failing to offer a reimbursement of expenses paid by individuals whose claims CSQ have become doomed to failure because of the application of the amendments from 1 st August 2013 and March 8, 2017 the weighting applicable Regulations to the selection of foreign nationals , RLRQ c I-0.2, r. 2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet request reimbursement of expenses paid by all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Tribunal authorized the Representatives to institute a class action in the District of Montreal on behalf of the Class and identified the main issues to be dealt with collectively and the related conclusions sought as follows:

(a) Should the Minister be ordered to reimburse the fees collected for CSQ applications from Class Members who did not exclude themselves from the class action?

And more particularly :

(b) Were the Group Members and the Minister respectively impoverished and enriched in the proportion of the fees paid for CSQ applications, all without any legal justification?

(c) What are the amounts of the impoverishment of the Members of the group and the enrichment of the Minister?

(d) In the alternative, did the Minister commit an extracontractual error and act in bad faith?

i. If so, what is the amount of damages incurred by the Class Members as a direct result of the Minister's mistakes?

(e) In any case, can the total amount of the costs to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

i. RECEIVE the Claimants' action against the Respondent;

ii. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay each Class Member who did not exclude from the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid by those members to file their CSQ applications in the "Skilled Worker" category before July 8th 2013, or the fees paid to file claims that have become doomed by the effect of the 2017 amendments;

iii. ORDER the collective recovery of the amounts due to the Class Members by the Respondent;

ALL with costs, including the cost of posting notices.

Exclusion of class action

If you wish to remain a member of the Group in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to exclude yourself from this class action, you must notify the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days after receiving the notice , by registered mail at 1 Notre Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec , H2Y 1B6. If you choose to exclude yourself, you will not be eligible for any benefit of a potential judgment on the merits.

Any member of the Class who does not exclude himself before the expiry of the exclusion period will be bound by any judgment rendered in the class action, including a final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the Representatives ultimately win the case against MIDI, you will be entitled to a refund of the fees you paid to file your CSQ application. In the event of failure of the class action, you will not be able to file or maintain a personal claim against MIDI in relation to the allegations in these proceedings.

All Class Members have the right to request to intervene in the class action. However, a member who is not a Representative or an intervenor may not be required to pay the legal costs of the class action.

Additional information and questions

If you have any questions about the Authorization Order or the process that will follow, please contact the attorneys of the Representatives:

Government of Canada brings medical inadmissibility policy in line with inclusivity for persons with disabilities

April 16, 2018 – Ottawa, ON – One of the Government of Canada’s priorities is to ensure greater accessibility and opportunities for Canadians with disabilities. Today’s announcement by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen of changes to the medical inadmissibility provision of theImmigration and Refugee Protection Actensures that our immigration policies better align with Canadian values and reflect the importance that the Government places on the inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Under the 40-year-old policy, applicants could be found medically inadmissible to Canada based on a set of criteria out of step with a 21st century approach to persons with disabilities. Most of those affected are individuals who would otherwise be approved in the economic immigration class, and selected for the benefit their skills will bring to the Canadian economy.

While the number of refusals under this provision was not high, it resulted in cases where applicants or their children were refused despite the fact their health condition or disability was one readily accommodated in Canadian society.

The new policy on medical inadmissibility strikes a balance between protecting publicly funded health and social services and updating the policy to bring it in line with current views on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. The changes include:

increasing the cost threshold for medical inadmissibility to 3 times the previous level, and

amending the definition of social services by removing references to special education, social and vocational rehabilitation services and personal support services.

Increasing the cost threshold will facilitate immigration for applicants with health conditions that typically require a limited range of health and social services and have relatively low health and social services costs. It is expected that this would dispense with a majority of the medical inadmissibility cases seen in Canada today.

Amending the definition of social services will bring the policy in line with Canadian values on supporting the participation of persons with disabilities in society, while continuing to protect publicly funded health and social services. This would also benefit applicants with intellectual disabilities, applicants with hearing or visual impairments, and others.

The Government has been reviewing all elements of the medical inadmissibility provisions since 2016. This included meetings with provincial and territorial governments, and discussions with stakeholders.

In addition, the issue was studied by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, which recommended eliminating the policy. Going forward, the Government agrees with the Standing Committee’s recommendation to eliminate the policy and will collaborate with provinces and territories towards its full elimination.

Find out if you are selected to apply to sponsor your parent and grandparent

Citizenship Bill Receives Royal Assent

Ottawa, ON – Today, Bill C-6,an Act to amend the Citizenship Act and make consequential amendments to another Act, received Royal Assent.

Changes to the Citizenship Act reflect the Government’s commitments to streamline the citizenship process, enhance program integrity, and repeal certain provisions of the Act that treated dual citizens differently than other Canadians. Some changes to the Citizenship Act take effect immediately upon Royal Assent, while others take effect at later dates to ensure the necessary regulatory changes and departmental preparations are in place for a smooth transition for applicants.

As of today, applicants are no longer required to intend to continue to live in Canada once granted citizenship, providing more flexibility to Canadians who may need to live outside of Canada for work or personal reasons. Immediate changes also include repealing the ability to revoke citizenship from dual citizens convicted of crimes against the national interest. Dual citizens living in Canada who are convicted of these crimes will face the Canadian justice system, like other Canadian citizens who break the law.

Some of the changes that are expected to take effect later this fall will give more flexibility to both younger and older eligible immigrants to obtain citizenship. These changes include reducing the time permanent residents must be physically present in Canada to three out of five years, instead of four out of six years, before applying for citizenship; amending the age range for people to meet the language and knowledge requirements for citizenship from 14-64 years to 18-54 years; and counting some of the time applicants spend in Canada as temporary residents or protected persons toward their physical presence requirements for citizenship.

Other changes that are expected to take effect next year include strengthening the citizenship revocation process by having the Federal Court as the decision-maker on most cases, thereby enhancing the procedural fairness of the process. For a complete list of changes made to the Citizenship Act and when they take effect, please read the Bill C-6 Backgrounder.

Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Stay informed by visiting the News section of our website.

For details on the bill, please consult the website of

The national assembly.

Please receive our best regards.

QUEBEC A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

The bill Loi visant à accroître la prospérité socio-économique du Québec et à répondre adéquatement aux besoins du marché du travail par une intégration réussie des personnes immigrantes (PL9) was introduced today in the National Assembly. The goal of this bill is to establish the necessary legal basis for improving the francization and integration of selected candidates as well as a better alignment of Québec’s labour needs with the profile of selected candidates.

The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Improving the selection of immigrants

For immigration to contribute significantly to growing Québec’s prosperity and better responding to job market needs, the Ministère would like to benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the statement of interest. To do this, the bill proposes terminating most of the applications for which a decision has not yet been rendered under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and reimbursing the applicants in question so that from this point on all new applications occur by invitation of the Minister, following submission of a statement of interest.

This provision of the bill seeks, in particular, to:

ensure a better alignment between job market needs and the profile of selected candidates;

benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the declaration of interest, by inviting candidates who meet Québec’s needs;

reduce processing times for applications for permanent selection from skilled workers.

Note that applications for the addition of a spouse or a de facto spouse and applications for the addition of a child submitted by skilled workers who have already been selected are not targeted by this provision.

Strengthening Québec’s actions in the area of immigration

The Ministère wishes to pursue its efforts to fully exercise its powers of selection, particularly with the reintroduction of the enabling power that allows the Québec government to determine by regulation the conditions for permanent residence that the Minister can impose on the candidates selected. Québec also wishes to expand its scope of intervention, by ensuring better follow-up of the clients that use the services offered by its many partners.

Public consultations on the bill will begin shortly and will enable stakeholders in the milieu, such as francization, integration and immigration law organizations, to voice their opinions on the new orientations proposed by the government.

For information on the details of Bill 9 and the public consultation, consult the National Assembly’s site.

2019 Parental Sponsorship Process Announced

Get ready to submit your 2019 interest to sponsor form

The first step to sponsor your parents or grandparents is filling out the interest to sponsor form.

The interest to sponsor form will be available at noon EST on January 28, 2019.

We’ll accept form submissions on a first-in basis. As soon as we get enough submissions, the form will no longer be available.

How to fill out the form

You, the person who wants to sponsor, must fill out the form.

If you have your information ready, it should take you about 10 minutes.

We recommend you use a desktop computer.

If you make a mistake on your interest to sponsor form, don’t submit another form.

Prepare your proof of status in Canada document

We’ll accept expired documents. You don’t need to renew your document to complete the interest to sponsor form or to submit your sponsorship application.

Make sure you use the same status document with your interest to sponsor form submission as you’ll submit with your application, if you’re invited to apply.

Submit one of the following proof of status documents:

permanent resident card (both sides)

record of landing (IMM 1000) (only if you didn’t get a PR Card)

Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688)

Canadian Citizenship Certificate or card (both sides)

Canadian birth certificate

If you were born in Quebec, we’ll only accept a birth certificate from the Directeur de l’État civil.

Canadian passport (pages showing passport number, date of issue and expiration, photo, name, surname, place and date of birth)

Secure certificate of Indian status

Prepare your copy ahead of time and know where to find it on your computer or mobile device.

How to create an electronic or digital copy

You can use a scanner or camera to create a digital copy of your proof of status document. Scan or take a picture of your status in Canada document.

The maximum file size is 2.5 MB. If your file is bigger than 2.5 MB, you should reduce the size.

You can only submit 1 file with your interest to sponsor form. If you have to submit both sides of your status in Canada document, save both sides into 1 document. If you don’t have a photo editing software, the easiest way to do this is to save both images into a Microsoft Word Document.

We accept these file formats:

PDF (Portable Document)

JPG, TIFF, or PNG (image)

DOC or DOCX (Microsoft Word document)

Take note of the name you give the file and where you save it so you can easily find the file later.

To avoid delays in processing, make sure the image is clear and your information is easy to read.

After you submit your interest to sponsor form in 2019

After you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form, you’ll see a confirmation page with a confirmation number. Keep this number for your records.

We’ll also send you an email to confirm that we’ve received your form.

We’ll invite potential sponsors to submit a complete application in the same order we receive the interest to sponsor forms.

We’ll start sending invitations after we review the submissions and remove duplicates.

If you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form this year, use your confirmation number to find out if you’re invited to apply.

Increased Immigration Levels in future Years Announced by Minister of Immigration CANADA

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the new multi-year immigration levels plan for 2019-2021. This new immigration plan will benefit all Canadians because immigrants contribute to Canada’s economic growth and help keep Canada competitive in a global economy.

The new plan builds on the strong economic foundation laid out in last year’s levels plan and continues to responsibly grow the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes annually to 330,800 in 2019, 341,000 in 2020 and 350,000—nearing 1 percent of Canada’s population—in 2021.

Minister Hussen highlighted the importance of economic immigration in spurring innovation domestically. That’s why the government’s immigration plan remains focused on attracting the best and brightest from around the world with the majority of the increase in 2021 allotted to high-skilled economic immigration. Newcomers are helping Canadian companies succeed and grow in the expanding information and communications technology sector, where one third of employees are immigrants.

Canada has welcomed generations of immigrants who have brought their talents to, and are an integral part of, local communities across the country. Immigration is a central pillar of Canada’s future economic success. In addition to spurring economic growth, immigration helps address the challenges our country faces with an ageing population, and plays a crucial role in keeping our country at the forefront of the global economy.

Great News for Parental Sponsorship 2019

To help reunite even more parents and grandparents with their families in Canada, today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that the Government of Canada will accept up to 20 000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2019. This is 4 times the number of applications accepted when the program reopened in 2014, when the cap was set at 5000 applications.

This decision to increase the number of applications that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept for processing is a result of continually high demand in the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program and the fact that we have significantly reduced the inventory of applications.

New QUEBEC Skilled Worker Application intake begins August 2, 2018

New Quebec Applicants... Get Ready:

The application intake is likely to begin from August 2, 2018. The Gazette states "the date of coming into force of the provisions of the Act respecting immigration to Québec (2016, chapter 3) be set for August 2, 2018"

The new system will replace the current first-come, first-served application process for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP).

The process of applying under the Quebec Skilled Worker program, or what the government calls the Regular Skilled Worker Program, will include the following steps for candidates:

1. Submission of an Expression of Interest to settle in Quebec and entry into Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

2. Successful selection from the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank results in an invitation to apply for the QSWP.

3. Submission of an application for a Quebec Selection Certificate, or certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) to the MIDI.

4. Submission of a Canadian permanent residence application to the federal government.

After the initial step of submitting an Expression of Interest to MIDI, candidates will be entered into the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank.

Candidates who meet the requirements, cut-off thresholds and passing scores for the program will be considered for selection.

Any foreign national 18 or older may submit an expression of interest to the province.

Once in the bank, a candidate will be assigned a score based on nine factors in Quebec's QSWP Points Grid, which include skilled work experience, education and training, proficiency in French or English, financial self-sufficiency, and others. In order to be considered, all profiles will have to meet the minimum score requirement of two points awarded for a secondary school general diploma and receive the one point for financial self-sufficiency to remain in Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

Profiles that meet the initial requirements for education and financial self-sufficiency must then meet the required cut-off score of 43 points for Employability factors.

If a candidate has a spouse, his or her education and training, work experience and language proficiency will be considered toward's a candidates overall cut-off score.The Employability cut-off score for candidates with a spouse or common-law partner is 52.

Candidates in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank must also meet the minimum threshold for Selection factors, which is a passing score of 50 points (and 59 with a spouse or common-law partner). Selection factors take into consideration all Employability factors, and the addition of children and the financial self-sufficiency.

Once in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank, a candidate's profile will remain active for 12 months.

Notice Class action against the MIDI

On February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes that came into effect on August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017. In order to respect the terms of Superior Court’s of Quebec judgment, the Ministère is issuing the following notice:

CLASS ACTION AGAINST THE MINISTRY OF IMMIGRATION,DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS OF QUEBEC (THE “MIDI”)C.C.M. 500-06-000660-130 NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION AUTHORIZATION

Read this notice carefully as it may affect your legal rights.

If you applied to immigrate to Québec in the “skilled worker” class between 2009 and March 2017, you may be a member of the class action that was authorized by Justice Pepita Capriolo of the Superior Court of Québec on February 19, 2018 for the following groups of persons (the “Class Members”):

Group 1

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013;

Whose application included form A-1520-AA or A-1520-AF containing the phrase “Your application for a selection certificate will be processed based on regulations in effect when it was submitted” or similar language; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of August 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer accumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 2

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 3

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of March 8, 2017; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the "Class Representative") instituted proceedings in the Superior Court of Quebec (the "Court") seeking permission to bring a class action against the Minister on behalf of the Class (the "Application for Authorization"). On May 16, 2017, the Application for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Class Representative for Group 3.

The Application for Authorization alleges that the Minister was unjustly enriched, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Québec by failing to offer a reimbursement of application fees paid by those individuals whose CSQ applications became doomed to fail as a result of the application of August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet seek reimbursement of application fees for all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Court authorized the Class Representatives to institute a class action in the judicial District of Montreal on behalf of the Class Members, and identified the following principal issues to be dealt with collectively:

(a) Should the Minister be condemned to reimburse the fees collected for the applications of the Group Members who do not opt out of the proposed class action?

And, in particular:

(b) Were the Group Members impoverished, and the Minister enriched, in the amount of the application fees paid, the whole without juridical reason?

(c) What is the amount of the Group Members' impoverishment and the Minister's enrichment?

(d) Alternately. did the Minister commit an extra-contractual fault and act in bad faith?

I. If so, what is the amount of damages suffered by the Group Members as a direct result of the Minister's faults?

(e) In all cases, can the aggregate amount of the fees to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

I. GRANT the Petitioners' action a against Respondent;

II. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay to each Group Member who have not opted out of the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid for their applications for a selection certificate in the skilled worker category filed prior to July 8, 2013, or the fees paid for applications doomed to failure by the 2017 amendments;

III. ORDER the collective recovery of all amounts to be paid by the Respondent to the Group Members;

THE WHOLE with costs, including the costs of publication of notices.

Opting out of the class action

If you wish to remain a Class Member in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to opt out of the class action, you must advise the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days of receiving this notice by registered mail to 1 Notre-Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 1B6. If you elect to opt out, you will not be eligible for any of the benefits of an eventual judgment on the merits.

Any Class Member who does not opt out before the deadline will be bound by Judgments to follow in the class action, including any final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the action against the Minister is ultimately successful. you may be entitled to reimbursement of the fees you paid to file an application for a CSQ. If the action against the Minister is unsuccessful, you will not be able to bring or maintain your own individual claim against the Minister in relation to the matters alleged in these proceedings.

All class members have the right to seek intervenor status in the class action. However, no class member other than the representative plaintiffs or an intervenor may be required to pay legal costs arising from the class action.

Additional information and questions

For any questions concerning the Authorization Order and the process that will follow, please communicate with the Class Representative's counsel:

Notice Class Action Against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion

February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes entered into force on 1 st August 2013 and March 8 2017. In order to comply with the terms of the judgment of the Superior Court of Quebec, the Ministère diffuse the following opinion:

The purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the " Representative ") filed an application with the Superior Court of Quebec (the " Tribunal ") seeking leave of the Tribunal to institute a class action against the Minister on behalf of Group (the " Request for Authorization "). On May 16, 2017, the Request for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Group 3 Representative.

The Application for Leave alleges that the Minister was enriched without cause, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Quebec by failing to offer a reimbursement of expenses paid by individuals whose claims CSQ have become doomed to failure because of the application of the amendments from 1 st August 2013 and March 8, 2017 the weighting applicable Regulations to the selection of foreign nationals , RLRQ c I-0.2, r. 2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet request reimbursement of expenses paid by all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Tribunal authorized the Representatives to institute a class action in the District of Montreal on behalf of the Class and identified the main issues to be dealt with collectively and the related conclusions sought as follows:

(a) Should the Minister be ordered to reimburse the fees collected for CSQ applications from Class Members who did not exclude themselves from the class action?

And more particularly :

(b) Were the Group Members and the Minister respectively impoverished and enriched in the proportion of the fees paid for CSQ applications, all without any legal justification?

(c) What are the amounts of the impoverishment of the Members of the group and the enrichment of the Minister?

(d) In the alternative, did the Minister commit an extracontractual error and act in bad faith?

i. If so, what is the amount of damages incurred by the Class Members as a direct result of the Minister's mistakes?

(e) In any case, can the total amount of the costs to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

i. RECEIVE the Claimants' action against the Respondent;

ii. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay each Class Member who did not exclude from the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid by those members to file their CSQ applications in the "Skilled Worker" category before July 8th 2013, or the fees paid to file claims that have become doomed by the effect of the 2017 amendments;

iii. ORDER the collective recovery of the amounts due to the Class Members by the Respondent;

ALL with costs, including the cost of posting notices.

Exclusion of class action

If you wish to remain a member of the Group in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to exclude yourself from this class action, you must notify the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days after receiving the notice , by registered mail at 1 Notre Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec , H2Y 1B6. If you choose to exclude yourself, you will not be eligible for any benefit of a potential judgment on the merits.

Any member of the Class who does not exclude himself before the expiry of the exclusion period will be bound by any judgment rendered in the class action, including a final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the Representatives ultimately win the case against MIDI, you will be entitled to a refund of the fees you paid to file your CSQ application. In the event of failure of the class action, you will not be able to file or maintain a personal claim against MIDI in relation to the allegations in these proceedings.

All Class Members have the right to request to intervene in the class action. However, a member who is not a Representative or an intervenor may not be required to pay the legal costs of the class action.

Additional information and questions

If you have any questions about the Authorization Order or the process that will follow, please contact the attorneys of the Representatives:

Government of Canada brings medical inadmissibility policy in line with inclusivity for persons with disabilities

April 16, 2018 – Ottawa, ON – One of the Government of Canada’s priorities is to ensure greater accessibility and opportunities for Canadians with disabilities. Today’s announcement by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen of changes to the medical inadmissibility provision of theImmigration and Refugee Protection Actensures that our immigration policies better align with Canadian values and reflect the importance that the Government places on the inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Under the 40-year-old policy, applicants could be found medically inadmissible to Canada based on a set of criteria out of step with a 21st century approach to persons with disabilities. Most of those affected are individuals who would otherwise be approved in the economic immigration class, and selected for the benefit their skills will bring to the Canadian economy.

While the number of refusals under this provision was not high, it resulted in cases where applicants or their children were refused despite the fact their health condition or disability was one readily accommodated in Canadian society.

The new policy on medical inadmissibility strikes a balance between protecting publicly funded health and social services and updating the policy to bring it in line with current views on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. The changes include:

increasing the cost threshold for medical inadmissibility to 3 times the previous level, and

amending the definition of social services by removing references to special education, social and vocational rehabilitation services and personal support services.

Increasing the cost threshold will facilitate immigration for applicants with health conditions that typically require a limited range of health and social services and have relatively low health and social services costs. It is expected that this would dispense with a majority of the medical inadmissibility cases seen in Canada today.

Amending the definition of social services will bring the policy in line with Canadian values on supporting the participation of persons with disabilities in society, while continuing to protect publicly funded health and social services. This would also benefit applicants with intellectual disabilities, applicants with hearing or visual impairments, and others.

The Government has been reviewing all elements of the medical inadmissibility provisions since 2016. This included meetings with provincial and territorial governments, and discussions with stakeholders.

In addition, the issue was studied by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, which recommended eliminating the policy. Going forward, the Government agrees with the Standing Committee’s recommendation to eliminate the policy and will collaborate with provinces and territories towards its full elimination.

Find out if you are selected to apply to sponsor your parent and grandparent

Citizenship Bill Receives Royal Assent

Ottawa, ON – Today, Bill C-6,an Act to amend the Citizenship Act and make consequential amendments to another Act, received Royal Assent.

Changes to the Citizenship Act reflect the Government’s commitments to streamline the citizenship process, enhance program integrity, and repeal certain provisions of the Act that treated dual citizens differently than other Canadians. Some changes to the Citizenship Act take effect immediately upon Royal Assent, while others take effect at later dates to ensure the necessary regulatory changes and departmental preparations are in place for a smooth transition for applicants.

As of today, applicants are no longer required to intend to continue to live in Canada once granted citizenship, providing more flexibility to Canadians who may need to live outside of Canada for work or personal reasons. Immediate changes also include repealing the ability to revoke citizenship from dual citizens convicted of crimes against the national interest. Dual citizens living in Canada who are convicted of these crimes will face the Canadian justice system, like other Canadian citizens who break the law.

Some of the changes that are expected to take effect later this fall will give more flexibility to both younger and older eligible immigrants to obtain citizenship. These changes include reducing the time permanent residents must be physically present in Canada to three out of five years, instead of four out of six years, before applying for citizenship; amending the age range for people to meet the language and knowledge requirements for citizenship from 14-64 years to 18-54 years; and counting some of the time applicants spend in Canada as temporary residents or protected persons toward their physical presence requirements for citizenship.

Other changes that are expected to take effect next year include strengthening the citizenship revocation process by having the Federal Court as the decision-maker on most cases, thereby enhancing the procedural fairness of the process. For a complete list of changes made to the Citizenship Act and when they take effect, please read the Bill C-6 Backgrounder.

Government of Canada launches the Global Skills Strategy

Fast application processing, enhanced customer service now available for companies

June 12, 2017—Toronto, ON – When companies in Canada can thrive and grow, they create more jobs. The Government of Canada’s new Global Skills Strategy will give employers a faster and more predictable process for attracting top talent and new skills to Canada, creating economic growth and more middle-class jobs for Canadians.

Today, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains and Rodger Cuzner, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, announced that employers and highly-skilled workers can now benefit from the Global Skills Strategy.

As part of the Strategy, which includes four pillars, high-skilled workers coming to Canada on a temporary basis are now able to benefit from two-week processing of applications for work permits and, when necessary, temporary resident visas. Open work permits for spouses and study permits for dependants will also be processed in two weeks when applicable.

Employers can now benefit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s new dedicated service channel and the new Global Talent Stream. This will help them access temporary, high-skilled, global talent, scale up or expand their knowledge of specialized skills so that they can be more innovative and build their expertise.

Two new work permit exemptions have also taken effect today. Highly-skilled workers who need to come to Canada for a very short-term assignment and researchers taking part in short-duration research projects being conducted in Canada will not require a work permit.

First announced in November 2016, the Global Skills Strategy helps promote global investment in Canada and supports the Government of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan. It recognizes that by facilitating the faster entry of top talent with specialized skill sets and global experience to Canada, we can help innovative companies grow, flourish and create jobs for Canadians.

Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Stay informed by visiting the News section of our website.

For details on the bill, please consult the website of

The national assembly.

Please receive our best regards.

QUEBEC A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

The bill Loi visant à accroître la prospérité socio-économique du Québec et à répondre adéquatement aux besoins du marché du travail par une intégration réussie des personnes immigrantes (PL9) was introduced today in the National Assembly. The goal of this bill is to establish the necessary legal basis for improving the francization and integration of selected candidates as well as a better alignment of Québec’s labour needs with the profile of selected candidates.

The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Improving the selection of immigrants

For immigration to contribute significantly to growing Québec’s prosperity and better responding to job market needs, the Ministère would like to benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the statement of interest. To do this, the bill proposes terminating most of the applications for which a decision has not yet been rendered under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and reimbursing the applicants in question so that from this point on all new applications occur by invitation of the Minister, following submission of a statement of interest.

This provision of the bill seeks, in particular, to:

ensure a better alignment between job market needs and the profile of selected candidates;

benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the declaration of interest, by inviting candidates who meet Québec’s needs;

reduce processing times for applications for permanent selection from skilled workers.

Note that applications for the addition of a spouse or a de facto spouse and applications for the addition of a child submitted by skilled workers who have already been selected are not targeted by this provision.

Strengthening Québec’s actions in the area of immigration

The Ministère wishes to pursue its efforts to fully exercise its powers of selection, particularly with the reintroduction of the enabling power that allows the Québec government to determine by regulation the conditions for permanent residence that the Minister can impose on the candidates selected. Québec also wishes to expand its scope of intervention, by ensuring better follow-up of the clients that use the services offered by its many partners.

Public consultations on the bill will begin shortly and will enable stakeholders in the milieu, such as francization, integration and immigration law organizations, to voice their opinions on the new orientations proposed by the government.

For information on the details of Bill 9 and the public consultation, consult the National Assembly’s site.

2019 Parental Sponsorship Process Announced

Get ready to submit your 2019 interest to sponsor form

The first step to sponsor your parents or grandparents is filling out the interest to sponsor form.

The interest to sponsor form will be available at noon EST on January 28, 2019.

We’ll accept form submissions on a first-in basis. As soon as we get enough submissions, the form will no longer be available.

How to fill out the form

You, the person who wants to sponsor, must fill out the form.

If you have your information ready, it should take you about 10 minutes.

We recommend you use a desktop computer.

If you make a mistake on your interest to sponsor form, don’t submit another form.

Prepare your proof of status in Canada document

We’ll accept expired documents. You don’t need to renew your document to complete the interest to sponsor form or to submit your sponsorship application.

Make sure you use the same status document with your interest to sponsor form submission as you’ll submit with your application, if you’re invited to apply.

Submit one of the following proof of status documents:

permanent resident card (both sides)

record of landing (IMM 1000) (only if you didn’t get a PR Card)

Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688)

Canadian Citizenship Certificate or card (both sides)

Canadian birth certificate

If you were born in Quebec, we’ll only accept a birth certificate from the Directeur de l’État civil.

Canadian passport (pages showing passport number, date of issue and expiration, photo, name, surname, place and date of birth)

Secure certificate of Indian status

Prepare your copy ahead of time and know where to find it on your computer or mobile device.

How to create an electronic or digital copy

You can use a scanner or camera to create a digital copy of your proof of status document. Scan or take a picture of your status in Canada document.

The maximum file size is 2.5 MB. If your file is bigger than 2.5 MB, you should reduce the size.

You can only submit 1 file with your interest to sponsor form. If you have to submit both sides of your status in Canada document, save both sides into 1 document. If you don’t have a photo editing software, the easiest way to do this is to save both images into a Microsoft Word Document.

We accept these file formats:

PDF (Portable Document)

JPG, TIFF, or PNG (image)

DOC or DOCX (Microsoft Word document)

Take note of the name you give the file and where you save it so you can easily find the file later.

To avoid delays in processing, make sure the image is clear and your information is easy to read.

After you submit your interest to sponsor form in 2019

After you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form, you’ll see a confirmation page with a confirmation number. Keep this number for your records.

We’ll also send you an email to confirm that we’ve received your form.

We’ll invite potential sponsors to submit a complete application in the same order we receive the interest to sponsor forms.

We’ll start sending invitations after we review the submissions and remove duplicates.

If you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form this year, use your confirmation number to find out if you’re invited to apply.

Increased Immigration Levels in future Years Announced by Minister of Immigration CANADA

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the new multi-year immigration levels plan for 2019-2021. This new immigration plan will benefit all Canadians because immigrants contribute to Canada’s economic growth and help keep Canada competitive in a global economy.

The new plan builds on the strong economic foundation laid out in last year’s levels plan and continues to responsibly grow the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes annually to 330,800 in 2019, 341,000 in 2020 and 350,000—nearing 1 percent of Canada’s population—in 2021.

Minister Hussen highlighted the importance of economic immigration in spurring innovation domestically. That’s why the government’s immigration plan remains focused on attracting the best and brightest from around the world with the majority of the increase in 2021 allotted to high-skilled economic immigration. Newcomers are helping Canadian companies succeed and grow in the expanding information and communications technology sector, where one third of employees are immigrants.

Canada has welcomed generations of immigrants who have brought their talents to, and are an integral part of, local communities across the country. Immigration is a central pillar of Canada’s future economic success. In addition to spurring economic growth, immigration helps address the challenges our country faces with an ageing population, and plays a crucial role in keeping our country at the forefront of the global economy.

Great News for Parental Sponsorship 2019

To help reunite even more parents and grandparents with their families in Canada, today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that the Government of Canada will accept up to 20 000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2019. This is 4 times the number of applications accepted when the program reopened in 2014, when the cap was set at 5000 applications.

This decision to increase the number of applications that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept for processing is a result of continually high demand in the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program and the fact that we have significantly reduced the inventory of applications.

New QUEBEC Skilled Worker Application intake begins August 2, 2018

New Quebec Applicants... Get Ready:

The application intake is likely to begin from August 2, 2018. The Gazette states "the date of coming into force of the provisions of the Act respecting immigration to Québec (2016, chapter 3) be set for August 2, 2018"

The new system will replace the current first-come, first-served application process for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP).

The process of applying under the Quebec Skilled Worker program, or what the government calls the Regular Skilled Worker Program, will include the following steps for candidates:

1. Submission of an Expression of Interest to settle in Quebec and entry into Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

2. Successful selection from the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank results in an invitation to apply for the QSWP.

3. Submission of an application for a Quebec Selection Certificate, or certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) to the MIDI.

4. Submission of a Canadian permanent residence application to the federal government.

After the initial step of submitting an Expression of Interest to MIDI, candidates will be entered into the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank.

Candidates who meet the requirements, cut-off thresholds and passing scores for the program will be considered for selection.

Any foreign national 18 or older may submit an expression of interest to the province.

Once in the bank, a candidate will be assigned a score based on nine factors in Quebec's QSWP Points Grid, which include skilled work experience, education and training, proficiency in French or English, financial self-sufficiency, and others. In order to be considered, all profiles will have to meet the minimum score requirement of two points awarded for a secondary school general diploma and receive the one point for financial self-sufficiency to remain in Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

Profiles that meet the initial requirements for education and financial self-sufficiency must then meet the required cut-off score of 43 points for Employability factors.

If a candidate has a spouse, his or her education and training, work experience and language proficiency will be considered toward's a candidates overall cut-off score.The Employability cut-off score for candidates with a spouse or common-law partner is 52.

Candidates in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank must also meet the minimum threshold for Selection factors, which is a passing score of 50 points (and 59 with a spouse or common-law partner). Selection factors take into consideration all Employability factors, and the addition of children and the financial self-sufficiency.

Once in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank, a candidate's profile will remain active for 12 months.

Notice Class action against the MIDI

On February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes that came into effect on August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017. In order to respect the terms of Superior Court’s of Quebec judgment, the Ministère is issuing the following notice:

CLASS ACTION AGAINST THE MINISTRY OF IMMIGRATION,DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS OF QUEBEC (THE “MIDI”)C.C.M. 500-06-000660-130 NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION AUTHORIZATION

Read this notice carefully as it may affect your legal rights.

If you applied to immigrate to Québec in the “skilled worker” class between 2009 and March 2017, you may be a member of the class action that was authorized by Justice Pepita Capriolo of the Superior Court of Québec on February 19, 2018 for the following groups of persons (the “Class Members”):

Group 1

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013;

Whose application included form A-1520-AA or A-1520-AF containing the phrase “Your application for a selection certificate will be processed based on regulations in effect when it was submitted” or similar language; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of August 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer accumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 2

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 3

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of March 8, 2017; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the "Class Representative") instituted proceedings in the Superior Court of Quebec (the "Court") seeking permission to bring a class action against the Minister on behalf of the Class (the "Application for Authorization"). On May 16, 2017, the Application for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Class Representative for Group 3.

The Application for Authorization alleges that the Minister was unjustly enriched, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Québec by failing to offer a reimbursement of application fees paid by those individuals whose CSQ applications became doomed to fail as a result of the application of August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet seek reimbursement of application fees for all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Court authorized the Class Representatives to institute a class action in the judicial District of Montreal on behalf of the Class Members, and identified the following principal issues to be dealt with collectively:

(a) Should the Minister be condemned to reimburse the fees collected for the applications of the Group Members who do not opt out of the proposed class action?

And, in particular:

(b) Were the Group Members impoverished, and the Minister enriched, in the amount of the application fees paid, the whole without juridical reason?

(c) What is the amount of the Group Members' impoverishment and the Minister's enrichment?

(d) Alternately. did the Minister commit an extra-contractual fault and act in bad faith?

I. If so, what is the amount of damages suffered by the Group Members as a direct result of the Minister's faults?

(e) In all cases, can the aggregate amount of the fees to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

I. GRANT the Petitioners' action a against Respondent;

II. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay to each Group Member who have not opted out of the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid for their applications for a selection certificate in the skilled worker category filed prior to July 8, 2013, or the fees paid for applications doomed to failure by the 2017 amendments;

III. ORDER the collective recovery of all amounts to be paid by the Respondent to the Group Members;

THE WHOLE with costs, including the costs of publication of notices.

Opting out of the class action

If you wish to remain a Class Member in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to opt out of the class action, you must advise the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days of receiving this notice by registered mail to 1 Notre-Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 1B6. If you elect to opt out, you will not be eligible for any of the benefits of an eventual judgment on the merits.

Any Class Member who does not opt out before the deadline will be bound by Judgments to follow in the class action, including any final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the action against the Minister is ultimately successful. you may be entitled to reimbursement of the fees you paid to file an application for a CSQ. If the action against the Minister is unsuccessful, you will not be able to bring or maintain your own individual claim against the Minister in relation to the matters alleged in these proceedings.

All class members have the right to seek intervenor status in the class action. However, no class member other than the representative plaintiffs or an intervenor may be required to pay legal costs arising from the class action.

Additional information and questions

For any questions concerning the Authorization Order and the process that will follow, please communicate with the Class Representative's counsel:

Notice Class Action Against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion

February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes entered into force on 1 st August 2013 and March 8 2017. In order to comply with the terms of the judgment of the Superior Court of Quebec, the Ministère diffuse the following opinion:

The purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the " Representative ") filed an application with the Superior Court of Quebec (the " Tribunal ") seeking leave of the Tribunal to institute a class action against the Minister on behalf of Group (the " Request for Authorization "). On May 16, 2017, the Request for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Group 3 Representative.

The Application for Leave alleges that the Minister was enriched without cause, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Quebec by failing to offer a reimbursement of expenses paid by individuals whose claims CSQ have become doomed to failure because of the application of the amendments from 1 st August 2013 and March 8, 2017 the weighting applicable Regulations to the selection of foreign nationals , RLRQ c I-0.2, r. 2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet request reimbursement of expenses paid by all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Tribunal authorized the Representatives to institute a class action in the District of Montreal on behalf of the Class and identified the main issues to be dealt with collectively and the related conclusions sought as follows:

(a) Should the Minister be ordered to reimburse the fees collected for CSQ applications from Class Members who did not exclude themselves from the class action?

And more particularly :

(b) Were the Group Members and the Minister respectively impoverished and enriched in the proportion of the fees paid for CSQ applications, all without any legal justification?

(c) What are the amounts of the impoverishment of the Members of the group and the enrichment of the Minister?

(d) In the alternative, did the Minister commit an extracontractual error and act in bad faith?

i. If so, what is the amount of damages incurred by the Class Members as a direct result of the Minister's mistakes?

(e) In any case, can the total amount of the costs to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

i. RECEIVE the Claimants' action against the Respondent;

ii. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay each Class Member who did not exclude from the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid by those members to file their CSQ applications in the "Skilled Worker" category before July 8th 2013, or the fees paid to file claims that have become doomed by the effect of the 2017 amendments;

iii. ORDER the collective recovery of the amounts due to the Class Members by the Respondent;

ALL with costs, including the cost of posting notices.

Exclusion of class action

If you wish to remain a member of the Group in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to exclude yourself from this class action, you must notify the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days after receiving the notice , by registered mail at 1 Notre Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec , H2Y 1B6. If you choose to exclude yourself, you will not be eligible for any benefit of a potential judgment on the merits.

Any member of the Class who does not exclude himself before the expiry of the exclusion period will be bound by any judgment rendered in the class action, including a final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the Representatives ultimately win the case against MIDI, you will be entitled to a refund of the fees you paid to file your CSQ application. In the event of failure of the class action, you will not be able to file or maintain a personal claim against MIDI in relation to the allegations in these proceedings.

All Class Members have the right to request to intervene in the class action. However, a member who is not a Representative or an intervenor may not be required to pay the legal costs of the class action.

Additional information and questions

If you have any questions about the Authorization Order or the process that will follow, please contact the attorneys of the Representatives:

Government of Canada brings medical inadmissibility policy in line with inclusivity for persons with disabilities

April 16, 2018 – Ottawa, ON – One of the Government of Canada’s priorities is to ensure greater accessibility and opportunities for Canadians with disabilities. Today’s announcement by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen of changes to the medical inadmissibility provision of theImmigration and Refugee Protection Actensures that our immigration policies better align with Canadian values and reflect the importance that the Government places on the inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Under the 40-year-old policy, applicants could be found medically inadmissible to Canada based on a set of criteria out of step with a 21st century approach to persons with disabilities. Most of those affected are individuals who would otherwise be approved in the economic immigration class, and selected for the benefit their skills will bring to the Canadian economy.

While the number of refusals under this provision was not high, it resulted in cases where applicants or their children were refused despite the fact their health condition or disability was one readily accommodated in Canadian society.

The new policy on medical inadmissibility strikes a balance between protecting publicly funded health and social services and updating the policy to bring it in line with current views on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. The changes include:

increasing the cost threshold for medical inadmissibility to 3 times the previous level, and

amending the definition of social services by removing references to special education, social and vocational rehabilitation services and personal support services.

Increasing the cost threshold will facilitate immigration for applicants with health conditions that typically require a limited range of health and social services and have relatively low health and social services costs. It is expected that this would dispense with a majority of the medical inadmissibility cases seen in Canada today.

Amending the definition of social services will bring the policy in line with Canadian values on supporting the participation of persons with disabilities in society, while continuing to protect publicly funded health and social services. This would also benefit applicants with intellectual disabilities, applicants with hearing or visual impairments, and others.

The Government has been reviewing all elements of the medical inadmissibility provisions since 2016. This included meetings with provincial and territorial governments, and discussions with stakeholders.

In addition, the issue was studied by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, which recommended eliminating the policy. Going forward, the Government agrees with the Standing Committee’s recommendation to eliminate the policy and will collaborate with provinces and territories towards its full elimination.

Find out if you are selected to apply to sponsor your parent and grandparent

Citizenship Bill Receives Royal Assent

Ottawa, ON – Today, Bill C-6,an Act to amend the Citizenship Act and make consequential amendments to another Act, received Royal Assent.

Changes to the Citizenship Act reflect the Government’s commitments to streamline the citizenship process, enhance program integrity, and repeal certain provisions of the Act that treated dual citizens differently than other Canadians. Some changes to the Citizenship Act take effect immediately upon Royal Assent, while others take effect at later dates to ensure the necessary regulatory changes and departmental preparations are in place for a smooth transition for applicants.

As of today, applicants are no longer required to intend to continue to live in Canada once granted citizenship, providing more flexibility to Canadians who may need to live outside of Canada for work or personal reasons. Immediate changes also include repealing the ability to revoke citizenship from dual citizens convicted of crimes against the national interest. Dual citizens living in Canada who are convicted of these crimes will face the Canadian justice system, like other Canadian citizens who break the law.

Some of the changes that are expected to take effect later this fall will give more flexibility to both younger and older eligible immigrants to obtain citizenship. These changes include reducing the time permanent residents must be physically present in Canada to three out of five years, instead of four out of six years, before applying for citizenship; amending the age range for people to meet the language and knowledge requirements for citizenship from 14-64 years to 18-54 years; and counting some of the time applicants spend in Canada as temporary residents or protected persons toward their physical presence requirements for citizenship.

Other changes that are expected to take effect next year include strengthening the citizenship revocation process by having the Federal Court as the decision-maker on most cases, thereby enhancing the procedural fairness of the process. For a complete list of changes made to the Citizenship Act and when they take effect, please read the Bill C-6 Backgrounder.

Government of Canada launches the Global Skills Strategy

Fast application processing, enhanced customer service now available for companies

June 12, 2017—Toronto, ON – When companies in Canada can thrive and grow, they create more jobs. The Government of Canada’s new Global Skills Strategy will give employers a faster and more predictable process for attracting top talent and new skills to Canada, creating economic growth and more middle-class jobs for Canadians.

Today, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains and Rodger Cuzner, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, announced that employers and highly-skilled workers can now benefit from the Global Skills Strategy.

As part of the Strategy, which includes four pillars, high-skilled workers coming to Canada on a temporary basis are now able to benefit from two-week processing of applications for work permits and, when necessary, temporary resident visas. Open work permits for spouses and study permits for dependants will also be processed in two weeks when applicable.

Employers can now benefit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s new dedicated service channel and the new Global Talent Stream. This will help them access temporary, high-skilled, global talent, scale up or expand their knowledge of specialized skills so that they can be more innovative and build their expertise.

Two new work permit exemptions have also taken effect today. Highly-skilled workers who need to come to Canada for a very short-term assignment and researchers taking part in short-duration research projects being conducted in Canada will not require a work permit.

First announced in November 2016, the Global Skills Strategy helps promote global investment in Canada and supports the Government of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan. It recognizes that by facilitating the faster entry of top talent with specialized skill sets and global experience to Canada, we can help innovative companies grow, flourish and create jobs for Canadians.

Express Entry to begin awarding additional points to candidates with siblings in Canada and to candidates with strong French language skills

June 5, 2017—Markham, ON – Improvements to the Express Entry system taking effect tomorrow help support the integration of skilled workers as they build their new life in Canada. This benefits Canada as newcomers are able to more quickly put their skills to use to help strengthen and grow Canada’s economy.

Starting on June 6, new points will be awarded to candidates with siblings in Canada. Studies have shown that as newcomers build a new life in Canada, those with siblings benefit by having improved integration into Canadian society.

Other changes to the Express Entry system include points for candidates with strong French language skills, removing the requirement to register with Job Bank and a new approach to rank tied candidates in the Express Entry pool.

Programs managed through the Express Entry system attract high-skilled foreign workers and former international students who want to live in Canada permanently and whose in-demand skills are needed by employers across the country to help build businesses and grow the economy.

Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Stay informed by visiting the News section of our website.

For details on the bill, please consult the website of

The national assembly.

Please receive our best regards.

QUEBEC A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

The bill Loi visant à accroître la prospérité socio-économique du Québec et à répondre adéquatement aux besoins du marché du travail par une intégration réussie des personnes immigrantes (PL9) was introduced today in the National Assembly. The goal of this bill is to establish the necessary legal basis for improving the francization and integration of selected candidates as well as a better alignment of Québec’s labour needs with the profile of selected candidates.

The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Improving the selection of immigrants

For immigration to contribute significantly to growing Québec’s prosperity and better responding to job market needs, the Ministère would like to benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the statement of interest. To do this, the bill proposes terminating most of the applications for which a decision has not yet been rendered under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and reimbursing the applicants in question so that from this point on all new applications occur by invitation of the Minister, following submission of a statement of interest.

This provision of the bill seeks, in particular, to:

ensure a better alignment between job market needs and the profile of selected candidates;

benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the declaration of interest, by inviting candidates who meet Québec’s needs;

reduce processing times for applications for permanent selection from skilled workers.

Note that applications for the addition of a spouse or a de facto spouse and applications for the addition of a child submitted by skilled workers who have already been selected are not targeted by this provision.

Strengthening Québec’s actions in the area of immigration

The Ministère wishes to pursue its efforts to fully exercise its powers of selection, particularly with the reintroduction of the enabling power that allows the Québec government to determine by regulation the conditions for permanent residence that the Minister can impose on the candidates selected. Québec also wishes to expand its scope of intervention, by ensuring better follow-up of the clients that use the services offered by its many partners.

Public consultations on the bill will begin shortly and will enable stakeholders in the milieu, such as francization, integration and immigration law organizations, to voice their opinions on the new orientations proposed by the government.

For information on the details of Bill 9 and the public consultation, consult the National Assembly’s site.

2019 Parental Sponsorship Process Announced

Get ready to submit your 2019 interest to sponsor form

The first step to sponsor your parents or grandparents is filling out the interest to sponsor form.

The interest to sponsor form will be available at noon EST on January 28, 2019.

We’ll accept form submissions on a first-in basis. As soon as we get enough submissions, the form will no longer be available.

How to fill out the form

You, the person who wants to sponsor, must fill out the form.

If you have your information ready, it should take you about 10 minutes.

We recommend you use a desktop computer.

If you make a mistake on your interest to sponsor form, don’t submit another form.

Prepare your proof of status in Canada document

We’ll accept expired documents. You don’t need to renew your document to complete the interest to sponsor form or to submit your sponsorship application.

Make sure you use the same status document with your interest to sponsor form submission as you’ll submit with your application, if you’re invited to apply.

Submit one of the following proof of status documents:

permanent resident card (both sides)

record of landing (IMM 1000) (only if you didn’t get a PR Card)

Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688)

Canadian Citizenship Certificate or card (both sides)

Canadian birth certificate

If you were born in Quebec, we’ll only accept a birth certificate from the Directeur de l’État civil.

Canadian passport (pages showing passport number, date of issue and expiration, photo, name, surname, place and date of birth)

Secure certificate of Indian status

Prepare your copy ahead of time and know where to find it on your computer or mobile device.

How to create an electronic or digital copy

You can use a scanner or camera to create a digital copy of your proof of status document. Scan or take a picture of your status in Canada document.

The maximum file size is 2.5 MB. If your file is bigger than 2.5 MB, you should reduce the size.

You can only submit 1 file with your interest to sponsor form. If you have to submit both sides of your status in Canada document, save both sides into 1 document. If you don’t have a photo editing software, the easiest way to do this is to save both images into a Microsoft Word Document.

We accept these file formats:

PDF (Portable Document)

JPG, TIFF, or PNG (image)

DOC or DOCX (Microsoft Word document)

Take note of the name you give the file and where you save it so you can easily find the file later.

To avoid delays in processing, make sure the image is clear and your information is easy to read.

After you submit your interest to sponsor form in 2019

After you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form, you’ll see a confirmation page with a confirmation number. Keep this number for your records.

We’ll also send you an email to confirm that we’ve received your form.

We’ll invite potential sponsors to submit a complete application in the same order we receive the interest to sponsor forms.

We’ll start sending invitations after we review the submissions and remove duplicates.

If you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form this year, use your confirmation number to find out if you’re invited to apply.

Increased Immigration Levels in future Years Announced by Minister of Immigration CANADA

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the new multi-year immigration levels plan for 2019-2021. This new immigration plan will benefit all Canadians because immigrants contribute to Canada’s economic growth and help keep Canada competitive in a global economy.

The new plan builds on the strong economic foundation laid out in last year’s levels plan and continues to responsibly grow the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes annually to 330,800 in 2019, 341,000 in 2020 and 350,000—nearing 1 percent of Canada’s population—in 2021.

Minister Hussen highlighted the importance of economic immigration in spurring innovation domestically. That’s why the government’s immigration plan remains focused on attracting the best and brightest from around the world with the majority of the increase in 2021 allotted to high-skilled economic immigration. Newcomers are helping Canadian companies succeed and grow in the expanding information and communications technology sector, where one third of employees are immigrants.

Canada has welcomed generations of immigrants who have brought their talents to, and are an integral part of, local communities across the country. Immigration is a central pillar of Canada’s future economic success. In addition to spurring economic growth, immigration helps address the challenges our country faces with an ageing population, and plays a crucial role in keeping our country at the forefront of the global economy.

Great News for Parental Sponsorship 2019

To help reunite even more parents and grandparents with their families in Canada, today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that the Government of Canada will accept up to 20 000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2019. This is 4 times the number of applications accepted when the program reopened in 2014, when the cap was set at 5000 applications.

This decision to increase the number of applications that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept for processing is a result of continually high demand in the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program and the fact that we have significantly reduced the inventory of applications.

New QUEBEC Skilled Worker Application intake begins August 2, 2018

New Quebec Applicants... Get Ready:

The application intake is likely to begin from August 2, 2018. The Gazette states "the date of coming into force of the provisions of the Act respecting immigration to Québec (2016, chapter 3) be set for August 2, 2018"

The new system will replace the current first-come, first-served application process for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP).

The process of applying under the Quebec Skilled Worker program, or what the government calls the Regular Skilled Worker Program, will include the following steps for candidates:

1. Submission of an Expression of Interest to settle in Quebec and entry into Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

2. Successful selection from the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank results in an invitation to apply for the QSWP.

3. Submission of an application for a Quebec Selection Certificate, or certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) to the MIDI.

4. Submission of a Canadian permanent residence application to the federal government.

After the initial step of submitting an Expression of Interest to MIDI, candidates will be entered into the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank.

Candidates who meet the requirements, cut-off thresholds and passing scores for the program will be considered for selection.

Any foreign national 18 or older may submit an expression of interest to the province.

Once in the bank, a candidate will be assigned a score based on nine factors in Quebec's QSWP Points Grid, which include skilled work experience, education and training, proficiency in French or English, financial self-sufficiency, and others. In order to be considered, all profiles will have to meet the minimum score requirement of two points awarded for a secondary school general diploma and receive the one point for financial self-sufficiency to remain in Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

Profiles that meet the initial requirements for education and financial self-sufficiency must then meet the required cut-off score of 43 points for Employability factors.

If a candidate has a spouse, his or her education and training, work experience and language proficiency will be considered toward's a candidates overall cut-off score.The Employability cut-off score for candidates with a spouse or common-law partner is 52.

Candidates in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank must also meet the minimum threshold for Selection factors, which is a passing score of 50 points (and 59 with a spouse or common-law partner). Selection factors take into consideration all Employability factors, and the addition of children and the financial self-sufficiency.

Once in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank, a candidate's profile will remain active for 12 months.

Notice Class action against the MIDI

On February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes that came into effect on August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017. In order to respect the terms of Superior Court’s of Quebec judgment, the Ministère is issuing the following notice:

CLASS ACTION AGAINST THE MINISTRY OF IMMIGRATION,DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS OF QUEBEC (THE “MIDI”)C.C.M. 500-06-000660-130 NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION AUTHORIZATION

Read this notice carefully as it may affect your legal rights.

If you applied to immigrate to Québec in the “skilled worker” class between 2009 and March 2017, you may be a member of the class action that was authorized by Justice Pepita Capriolo of the Superior Court of Québec on February 19, 2018 for the following groups of persons (the “Class Members”):

Group 1

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013;

Whose application included form A-1520-AA or A-1520-AF containing the phrase “Your application for a selection certificate will be processed based on regulations in effect when it was submitted” or similar language; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of August 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer accumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 2

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 3

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of March 8, 2017; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the "Class Representative") instituted proceedings in the Superior Court of Quebec (the "Court") seeking permission to bring a class action against the Minister on behalf of the Class (the "Application for Authorization"). On May 16, 2017, the Application for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Class Representative for Group 3.

The Application for Authorization alleges that the Minister was unjustly enriched, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Québec by failing to offer a reimbursement of application fees paid by those individuals whose CSQ applications became doomed to fail as a result of the application of August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet seek reimbursement of application fees for all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Court authorized the Class Representatives to institute a class action in the judicial District of Montreal on behalf of the Class Members, and identified the following principal issues to be dealt with collectively:

(a) Should the Minister be condemned to reimburse the fees collected for the applications of the Group Members who do not opt out of the proposed class action?

And, in particular:

(b) Were the Group Members impoverished, and the Minister enriched, in the amount of the application fees paid, the whole without juridical reason?

(c) What is the amount of the Group Members' impoverishment and the Minister's enrichment?

(d) Alternately. did the Minister commit an extra-contractual fault and act in bad faith?

I. If so, what is the amount of damages suffered by the Group Members as a direct result of the Minister's faults?

(e) In all cases, can the aggregate amount of the fees to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

I. GRANT the Petitioners' action a against Respondent;

II. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay to each Group Member who have not opted out of the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid for their applications for a selection certificate in the skilled worker category filed prior to July 8, 2013, or the fees paid for applications doomed to failure by the 2017 amendments;

III. ORDER the collective recovery of all amounts to be paid by the Respondent to the Group Members;

THE WHOLE with costs, including the costs of publication of notices.

Opting out of the class action

If you wish to remain a Class Member in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to opt out of the class action, you must advise the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days of receiving this notice by registered mail to 1 Notre-Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 1B6. If you elect to opt out, you will not be eligible for any of the benefits of an eventual judgment on the merits.

Any Class Member who does not opt out before the deadline will be bound by Judgments to follow in the class action, including any final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the action against the Minister is ultimately successful. you may be entitled to reimbursement of the fees you paid to file an application for a CSQ. If the action against the Minister is unsuccessful, you will not be able to bring or maintain your own individual claim against the Minister in relation to the matters alleged in these proceedings.

All class members have the right to seek intervenor status in the class action. However, no class member other than the representative plaintiffs or an intervenor may be required to pay legal costs arising from the class action.

Additional information and questions

For any questions concerning the Authorization Order and the process that will follow, please communicate with the Class Representative's counsel:

Notice Class Action Against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion

February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes entered into force on 1 st August 2013 and March 8 2017. In order to comply with the terms of the judgment of the Superior Court of Quebec, the Ministère diffuse the following opinion:

The purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the " Representative ") filed an application with the Superior Court of Quebec (the " Tribunal ") seeking leave of the Tribunal to institute a class action against the Minister on behalf of Group (the " Request for Authorization "). On May 16, 2017, the Request for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Group 3 Representative.

The Application for Leave alleges that the Minister was enriched without cause, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Quebec by failing to offer a reimbursement of expenses paid by individuals whose claims CSQ have become doomed to failure because of the application of the amendments from 1 st August 2013 and March 8, 2017 the weighting applicable Regulations to the selection of foreign nationals , RLRQ c I-0.2, r. 2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet request reimbursement of expenses paid by all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Tribunal authorized the Representatives to institute a class action in the District of Montreal on behalf of the Class and identified the main issues to be dealt with collectively and the related conclusions sought as follows:

(a) Should the Minister be ordered to reimburse the fees collected for CSQ applications from Class Members who did not exclude themselves from the class action?

And more particularly :

(b) Were the Group Members and the Minister respectively impoverished and enriched in the proportion of the fees paid for CSQ applications, all without any legal justification?

(c) What are the amounts of the impoverishment of the Members of the group and the enrichment of the Minister?

(d) In the alternative, did the Minister commit an extracontractual error and act in bad faith?

i. If so, what is the amount of damages incurred by the Class Members as a direct result of the Minister's mistakes?

(e) In any case, can the total amount of the costs to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

i. RECEIVE the Claimants' action against the Respondent;

ii. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay each Class Member who did not exclude from the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid by those members to file their CSQ applications in the "Skilled Worker" category before July 8th 2013, or the fees paid to file claims that have become doomed by the effect of the 2017 amendments;

iii. ORDER the collective recovery of the amounts due to the Class Members by the Respondent;

ALL with costs, including the cost of posting notices.

Exclusion of class action

If you wish to remain a member of the Group in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to exclude yourself from this class action, you must notify the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days after receiving the notice , by registered mail at 1 Notre Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec , H2Y 1B6. If you choose to exclude yourself, you will not be eligible for any benefit of a potential judgment on the merits.

Any member of the Class who does not exclude himself before the expiry of the exclusion period will be bound by any judgment rendered in the class action, including a final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the Representatives ultimately win the case against MIDI, you will be entitled to a refund of the fees you paid to file your CSQ application. In the event of failure of the class action, you will not be able to file or maintain a personal claim against MIDI in relation to the allegations in these proceedings.

All Class Members have the right to request to intervene in the class action. However, a member who is not a Representative or an intervenor may not be required to pay the legal costs of the class action.

Additional information and questions

If you have any questions about the Authorization Order or the process that will follow, please contact the attorneys of the Representatives:

Government of Canada brings medical inadmissibility policy in line with inclusivity for persons with disabilities

April 16, 2018 – Ottawa, ON – One of the Government of Canada’s priorities is to ensure greater accessibility and opportunities for Canadians with disabilities. Today’s announcement by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen of changes to the medical inadmissibility provision of theImmigration and Refugee Protection Actensures that our immigration policies better align with Canadian values and reflect the importance that the Government places on the inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Under the 40-year-old policy, applicants could be found medically inadmissible to Canada based on a set of criteria out of step with a 21st century approach to persons with disabilities. Most of those affected are individuals who would otherwise be approved in the economic immigration class, and selected for the benefit their skills will bring to the Canadian economy.

While the number of refusals under this provision was not high, it resulted in cases where applicants or their children were refused despite the fact their health condition or disability was one readily accommodated in Canadian society.

The new policy on medical inadmissibility strikes a balance between protecting publicly funded health and social services and updating the policy to bring it in line with current views on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. The changes include:

increasing the cost threshold for medical inadmissibility to 3 times the previous level, and

amending the definition of social services by removing references to special education, social and vocational rehabilitation services and personal support services.

Increasing the cost threshold will facilitate immigration for applicants with health conditions that typically require a limited range of health and social services and have relatively low health and social services costs. It is expected that this would dispense with a majority of the medical inadmissibility cases seen in Canada today.

Amending the definition of social services will bring the policy in line with Canadian values on supporting the participation of persons with disabilities in society, while continuing to protect publicly funded health and social services. This would also benefit applicants with intellectual disabilities, applicants with hearing or visual impairments, and others.

The Government has been reviewing all elements of the medical inadmissibility provisions since 2016. This included meetings with provincial and territorial governments, and discussions with stakeholders.

In addition, the issue was studied by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, which recommended eliminating the policy. Going forward, the Government agrees with the Standing Committee’s recommendation to eliminate the policy and will collaborate with provinces and territories towards its full elimination.

Find out if you are selected to apply to sponsor your parent and grandparent

Citizenship Bill Receives Royal Assent

Ottawa, ON – Today, Bill C-6,an Act to amend the Citizenship Act and make consequential amendments to another Act, received Royal Assent.

Changes to the Citizenship Act reflect the Government’s commitments to streamline the citizenship process, enhance program integrity, and repeal certain provisions of the Act that treated dual citizens differently than other Canadians. Some changes to the Citizenship Act take effect immediately upon Royal Assent, while others take effect at later dates to ensure the necessary regulatory changes and departmental preparations are in place for a smooth transition for applicants.

As of today, applicants are no longer required to intend to continue to live in Canada once granted citizenship, providing more flexibility to Canadians who may need to live outside of Canada for work or personal reasons. Immediate changes also include repealing the ability to revoke citizenship from dual citizens convicted of crimes against the national interest. Dual citizens living in Canada who are convicted of these crimes will face the Canadian justice system, like other Canadian citizens who break the law.

Some of the changes that are expected to take effect later this fall will give more flexibility to both younger and older eligible immigrants to obtain citizenship. These changes include reducing the time permanent residents must be physically present in Canada to three out of five years, instead of four out of six years, before applying for citizenship; amending the age range for people to meet the language and knowledge requirements for citizenship from 14-64 years to 18-54 years; and counting some of the time applicants spend in Canada as temporary residents or protected persons toward their physical presence requirements for citizenship.

Other changes that are expected to take effect next year include strengthening the citizenship revocation process by having the Federal Court as the decision-maker on most cases, thereby enhancing the procedural fairness of the process. For a complete list of changes made to the Citizenship Act and when they take effect, please read the Bill C-6 Backgrounder.

Government of Canada launches the Global Skills Strategy

Fast application processing, enhanced customer service now available for companies

June 12, 2017—Toronto, ON – When companies in Canada can thrive and grow, they create more jobs. The Government of Canada’s new Global Skills Strategy will give employers a faster and more predictable process for attracting top talent and new skills to Canada, creating economic growth and more middle-class jobs for Canadians.

Today, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains and Rodger Cuzner, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, announced that employers and highly-skilled workers can now benefit from the Global Skills Strategy.

As part of the Strategy, which includes four pillars, high-skilled workers coming to Canada on a temporary basis are now able to benefit from two-week processing of applications for work permits and, when necessary, temporary resident visas. Open work permits for spouses and study permits for dependants will also be processed in two weeks when applicable.

Employers can now benefit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s new dedicated service channel and the new Global Talent Stream. This will help them access temporary, high-skilled, global talent, scale up or expand their knowledge of specialized skills so that they can be more innovative and build their expertise.

Two new work permit exemptions have also taken effect today. Highly-skilled workers who need to come to Canada for a very short-term assignment and researchers taking part in short-duration research projects being conducted in Canada will not require a work permit.

First announced in November 2016, the Global Skills Strategy helps promote global investment in Canada and supports the Government of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan. It recognizes that by facilitating the faster entry of top talent with specialized skill sets and global experience to Canada, we can help innovative companies grow, flourish and create jobs for Canadians.

Express Entry to begin awarding additional points to candidates with siblings in Canada and to candidates with strong French language skills

June 5, 2017—Markham, ON – Improvements to the Express Entry system taking effect tomorrow help support the integration of skilled workers as they build their new life in Canada. This benefits Canada as newcomers are able to more quickly put their skills to use to help strengthen and grow Canada’s economy.

Starting on June 6, new points will be awarded to candidates with siblings in Canada. Studies have shown that as newcomers build a new life in Canada, those with siblings benefit by having improved integration into Canadian society.

Other changes to the Express Entry system include points for candidates with strong French language skills, removing the requirement to register with Job Bank and a new approach to rank tied candidates in the Express Entry pool.

Programs managed through the Express Entry system attract high-skilled foreign workers and former international students who want to live in Canada permanently and whose in-demand skills are needed by employers across the country to help build businesses and grow the economy.

Universal Immigration Opens Branch Office in PHILIPPINES

Universal Immigration is proud to announce the opening of their branch office in Metro MAnila, Philippines.

The office will be tentatively operational from 17th May, 2017.

The address will be :

ALI MALL, Level - 2, Unit 2011, (Opposite DFA), CUBAO, Quezon City.

Contact No. 63-917-124-3465

Email : urcs.ph@universalimmigration.com

The branch will cater to all new clients wishing to immigrate to Canada or to come under Study Permits.

Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Stay informed by visiting the News section of our website.

For details on the bill, please consult the website of

The national assembly.

Please receive our best regards.

QUEBEC A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

The bill Loi visant à accroître la prospérité socio-économique du Québec et à répondre adéquatement aux besoins du marché du travail par une intégration réussie des personnes immigrantes (PL9) was introduced today in the National Assembly. The goal of this bill is to establish the necessary legal basis for improving the francization and integration of selected candidates as well as a better alignment of Québec’s labour needs with the profile of selected candidates.

The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Improving the selection of immigrants

For immigration to contribute significantly to growing Québec’s prosperity and better responding to job market needs, the Ministère would like to benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the statement of interest. To do this, the bill proposes terminating most of the applications for which a decision has not yet been rendered under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and reimbursing the applicants in question so that from this point on all new applications occur by invitation of the Minister, following submission of a statement of interest.

This provision of the bill seeks, in particular, to:

ensure a better alignment between job market needs and the profile of selected candidates;

benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the declaration of interest, by inviting candidates who meet Québec’s needs;

reduce processing times for applications for permanent selection from skilled workers.

Note that applications for the addition of a spouse or a de facto spouse and applications for the addition of a child submitted by skilled workers who have already been selected are not targeted by this provision.

Strengthening Québec’s actions in the area of immigration

The Ministère wishes to pursue its efforts to fully exercise its powers of selection, particularly with the reintroduction of the enabling power that allows the Québec government to determine by regulation the conditions for permanent residence that the Minister can impose on the candidates selected. Québec also wishes to expand its scope of intervention, by ensuring better follow-up of the clients that use the services offered by its many partners.

Public consultations on the bill will begin shortly and will enable stakeholders in the milieu, such as francization, integration and immigration law organizations, to voice their opinions on the new orientations proposed by the government.

For information on the details of Bill 9 and the public consultation, consult the National Assembly’s site.

2019 Parental Sponsorship Process Announced

Get ready to submit your 2019 interest to sponsor form

The first step to sponsor your parents or grandparents is filling out the interest to sponsor form.

The interest to sponsor form will be available at noon EST on January 28, 2019.

We’ll accept form submissions on a first-in basis. As soon as we get enough submissions, the form will no longer be available.

How to fill out the form

You, the person who wants to sponsor, must fill out the form.

If you have your information ready, it should take you about 10 minutes.

We recommend you use a desktop computer.

If you make a mistake on your interest to sponsor form, don’t submit another form.

Prepare your proof of status in Canada document

We’ll accept expired documents. You don’t need to renew your document to complete the interest to sponsor form or to submit your sponsorship application.

Make sure you use the same status document with your interest to sponsor form submission as you’ll submit with your application, if you’re invited to apply.

Submit one of the following proof of status documents:

permanent resident card (both sides)

record of landing (IMM 1000) (only if you didn’t get a PR Card)

Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688)

Canadian Citizenship Certificate or card (both sides)

Canadian birth certificate

If you were born in Quebec, we’ll only accept a birth certificate from the Directeur de l’État civil.

Canadian passport (pages showing passport number, date of issue and expiration, photo, name, surname, place and date of birth)

Secure certificate of Indian status

Prepare your copy ahead of time and know where to find it on your computer or mobile device.

How to create an electronic or digital copy

You can use a scanner or camera to create a digital copy of your proof of status document. Scan or take a picture of your status in Canada document.

The maximum file size is 2.5 MB. If your file is bigger than 2.5 MB, you should reduce the size.

You can only submit 1 file with your interest to sponsor form. If you have to submit both sides of your status in Canada document, save both sides into 1 document. If you don’t have a photo editing software, the easiest way to do this is to save both images into a Microsoft Word Document.

We accept these file formats:

PDF (Portable Document)

JPG, TIFF, or PNG (image)

DOC or DOCX (Microsoft Word document)

Take note of the name you give the file and where you save it so you can easily find the file later.

To avoid delays in processing, make sure the image is clear and your information is easy to read.

After you submit your interest to sponsor form in 2019

After you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form, you’ll see a confirmation page with a confirmation number. Keep this number for your records.

We’ll also send you an email to confirm that we’ve received your form.

We’ll invite potential sponsors to submit a complete application in the same order we receive the interest to sponsor forms.

We’ll start sending invitations after we review the submissions and remove duplicates.

If you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form this year, use your confirmation number to find out if you’re invited to apply.

Increased Immigration Levels in future Years Announced by Minister of Immigration CANADA

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the new multi-year immigration levels plan for 2019-2021. This new immigration plan will benefit all Canadians because immigrants contribute to Canada’s economic growth and help keep Canada competitive in a global economy.

The new plan builds on the strong economic foundation laid out in last year’s levels plan and continues to responsibly grow the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes annually to 330,800 in 2019, 341,000 in 2020 and 350,000—nearing 1 percent of Canada’s population—in 2021.

Minister Hussen highlighted the importance of economic immigration in spurring innovation domestically. That’s why the government’s immigration plan remains focused on attracting the best and brightest from around the world with the majority of the increase in 2021 allotted to high-skilled economic immigration. Newcomers are helping Canadian companies succeed and grow in the expanding information and communications technology sector, where one third of employees are immigrants.

Canada has welcomed generations of immigrants who have brought their talents to, and are an integral part of, local communities across the country. Immigration is a central pillar of Canada’s future economic success. In addition to spurring economic growth, immigration helps address the challenges our country faces with an ageing population, and plays a crucial role in keeping our country at the forefront of the global economy.

Great News for Parental Sponsorship 2019

To help reunite even more parents and grandparents with their families in Canada, today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that the Government of Canada will accept up to 20 000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2019. This is 4 times the number of applications accepted when the program reopened in 2014, when the cap was set at 5000 applications.

This decision to increase the number of applications that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept for processing is a result of continually high demand in the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program and the fact that we have significantly reduced the inventory of applications.

New QUEBEC Skilled Worker Application intake begins August 2, 2018

New Quebec Applicants... Get Ready:

The application intake is likely to begin from August 2, 2018. The Gazette states "the date of coming into force of the provisions of the Act respecting immigration to Québec (2016, chapter 3) be set for August 2, 2018"

The new system will replace the current first-come, first-served application process for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP).

The process of applying under the Quebec Skilled Worker program, or what the government calls the Regular Skilled Worker Program, will include the following steps for candidates:

1. Submission of an Expression of Interest to settle in Quebec and entry into Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

2. Successful selection from the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank results in an invitation to apply for the QSWP.

3. Submission of an application for a Quebec Selection Certificate, or certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) to the MIDI.

4. Submission of a Canadian permanent residence application to the federal government.

After the initial step of submitting an Expression of Interest to MIDI, candidates will be entered into the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank.

Candidates who meet the requirements, cut-off thresholds and passing scores for the program will be considered for selection.

Any foreign national 18 or older may submit an expression of interest to the province.

Once in the bank, a candidate will be assigned a score based on nine factors in Quebec's QSWP Points Grid, which include skilled work experience, education and training, proficiency in French or English, financial self-sufficiency, and others. In order to be considered, all profiles will have to meet the minimum score requirement of two points awarded for a secondary school general diploma and receive the one point for financial self-sufficiency to remain in Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

Profiles that meet the initial requirements for education and financial self-sufficiency must then meet the required cut-off score of 43 points for Employability factors.

If a candidate has a spouse, his or her education and training, work experience and language proficiency will be considered toward's a candidates overall cut-off score.The Employability cut-off score for candidates with a spouse or common-law partner is 52.

Candidates in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank must also meet the minimum threshold for Selection factors, which is a passing score of 50 points (and 59 with a spouse or common-law partner). Selection factors take into consideration all Employability factors, and the addition of children and the financial self-sufficiency.

Once in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank, a candidate's profile will remain active for 12 months.

Notice Class action against the MIDI

On February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes that came into effect on August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017. In order to respect the terms of Superior Court’s of Quebec judgment, the Ministère is issuing the following notice:

CLASS ACTION AGAINST THE MINISTRY OF IMMIGRATION,DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS OF QUEBEC (THE “MIDI”)C.C.M. 500-06-000660-130 NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION AUTHORIZATION

Read this notice carefully as it may affect your legal rights.

If you applied to immigrate to Québec in the “skilled worker” class between 2009 and March 2017, you may be a member of the class action that was authorized by Justice Pepita Capriolo of the Superior Court of Québec on February 19, 2018 for the following groups of persons (the “Class Members”):

Group 1

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013;

Whose application included form A-1520-AA or A-1520-AF containing the phrase “Your application for a selection certificate will be processed based on regulations in effect when it was submitted” or similar language; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of August 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer accumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 2

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 3

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of March 8, 2017; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the "Class Representative") instituted proceedings in the Superior Court of Quebec (the "Court") seeking permission to bring a class action against the Minister on behalf of the Class (the "Application for Authorization"). On May 16, 2017, the Application for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Class Representative for Group 3.

The Application for Authorization alleges that the Minister was unjustly enriched, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Québec by failing to offer a reimbursement of application fees paid by those individuals whose CSQ applications became doomed to fail as a result of the application of August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet seek reimbursement of application fees for all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Court authorized the Class Representatives to institute a class action in the judicial District of Montreal on behalf of the Class Members, and identified the following principal issues to be dealt with collectively:

(a) Should the Minister be condemned to reimburse the fees collected for the applications of the Group Members who do not opt out of the proposed class action?

And, in particular:

(b) Were the Group Members impoverished, and the Minister enriched, in the amount of the application fees paid, the whole without juridical reason?

(c) What is the amount of the Group Members' impoverishment and the Minister's enrichment?

(d) Alternately. did the Minister commit an extra-contractual fault and act in bad faith?

I. If so, what is the amount of damages suffered by the Group Members as a direct result of the Minister's faults?

(e) In all cases, can the aggregate amount of the fees to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

I. GRANT the Petitioners' action a against Respondent;

II. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay to each Group Member who have not opted out of the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid for their applications for a selection certificate in the skilled worker category filed prior to July 8, 2013, or the fees paid for applications doomed to failure by the 2017 amendments;

III. ORDER the collective recovery of all amounts to be paid by the Respondent to the Group Members;

THE WHOLE with costs, including the costs of publication of notices.

Opting out of the class action

If you wish to remain a Class Member in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to opt out of the class action, you must advise the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days of receiving this notice by registered mail to 1 Notre-Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 1B6. If you elect to opt out, you will not be eligible for any of the benefits of an eventual judgment on the merits.

Any Class Member who does not opt out before the deadline will be bound by Judgments to follow in the class action, including any final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the action against the Minister is ultimately successful. you may be entitled to reimbursement of the fees you paid to file an application for a CSQ. If the action against the Minister is unsuccessful, you will not be able to bring or maintain your own individual claim against the Minister in relation to the matters alleged in these proceedings.

All class members have the right to seek intervenor status in the class action. However, no class member other than the representative plaintiffs or an intervenor may be required to pay legal costs arising from the class action.

Additional information and questions

For any questions concerning the Authorization Order and the process that will follow, please communicate with the Class Representative's counsel:

Notice Class Action Against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion

February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes entered into force on 1 st August 2013 and March 8 2017. In order to comply with the terms of the judgment of the Superior Court of Quebec, the Ministère diffuse the following opinion:

The purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the " Representative ") filed an application with the Superior Court of Quebec (the " Tribunal ") seeking leave of the Tribunal to institute a class action against the Minister on behalf of Group (the " Request for Authorization "). On May 16, 2017, the Request for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Group 3 Representative.

The Application for Leave alleges that the Minister was enriched without cause, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Quebec by failing to offer a reimbursement of expenses paid by individuals whose claims CSQ have become doomed to failure because of the application of the amendments from 1 st August 2013 and March 8, 2017 the weighting applicable Regulations to the selection of foreign nationals , RLRQ c I-0.2, r. 2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet request reimbursement of expenses paid by all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Tribunal authorized the Representatives to institute a class action in the District of Montreal on behalf of the Class and identified the main issues to be dealt with collectively and the related conclusions sought as follows:

(a) Should the Minister be ordered to reimburse the fees collected for CSQ applications from Class Members who did not exclude themselves from the class action?

And more particularly :

(b) Were the Group Members and the Minister respectively impoverished and enriched in the proportion of the fees paid for CSQ applications, all without any legal justification?

(c) What are the amounts of the impoverishment of the Members of the group and the enrichment of the Minister?

(d) In the alternative, did the Minister commit an extracontractual error and act in bad faith?

i. If so, what is the amount of damages incurred by the Class Members as a direct result of the Minister's mistakes?

(e) In any case, can the total amount of the costs to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

i. RECEIVE the Claimants' action against the Respondent;

ii. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay each Class Member who did not exclude from the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid by those members to file their CSQ applications in the "Skilled Worker" category before July 8th 2013, or the fees paid to file claims that have become doomed by the effect of the 2017 amendments;

iii. ORDER the collective recovery of the amounts due to the Class Members by the Respondent;

ALL with costs, including the cost of posting notices.

Exclusion of class action

If you wish to remain a member of the Group in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to exclude yourself from this class action, you must notify the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days after receiving the notice , by registered mail at 1 Notre Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec , H2Y 1B6. If you choose to exclude yourself, you will not be eligible for any benefit of a potential judgment on the merits.

Any member of the Class who does not exclude himself before the expiry of the exclusion period will be bound by any judgment rendered in the class action, including a final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the Representatives ultimately win the case against MIDI, you will be entitled to a refund of the fees you paid to file your CSQ application. In the event of failure of the class action, you will not be able to file or maintain a personal claim against MIDI in relation to the allegations in these proceedings.

All Class Members have the right to request to intervene in the class action. However, a member who is not a Representative or an intervenor may not be required to pay the legal costs of the class action.

Additional information and questions

If you have any questions about the Authorization Order or the process that will follow, please contact the attorneys of the Representatives:

Government of Canada brings medical inadmissibility policy in line with inclusivity for persons with disabilities

April 16, 2018 – Ottawa, ON – One of the Government of Canada’s priorities is to ensure greater accessibility and opportunities for Canadians with disabilities. Today’s announcement by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen of changes to the medical inadmissibility provision of theImmigration and Refugee Protection Actensures that our immigration policies better align with Canadian values and reflect the importance that the Government places on the inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Under the 40-year-old policy, applicants could be found medically inadmissible to Canada based on a set of criteria out of step with a 21st century approach to persons with disabilities. Most of those affected are individuals who would otherwise be approved in the economic immigration class, and selected for the benefit their skills will bring to the Canadian economy.

While the number of refusals under this provision was not high, it resulted in cases where applicants or their children were refused despite the fact their health condition or disability was one readily accommodated in Canadian society.

The new policy on medical inadmissibility strikes a balance between protecting publicly funded health and social services and updating the policy to bring it in line with current views on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. The changes include:

increasing the cost threshold for medical inadmissibility to 3 times the previous level, and

amending the definition of social services by removing references to special education, social and vocational rehabilitation services and personal support services.

Increasing the cost threshold will facilitate immigration for applicants with health conditions that typically require a limited range of health and social services and have relatively low health and social services costs. It is expected that this would dispense with a majority of the medical inadmissibility cases seen in Canada today.

Amending the definition of social services will bring the policy in line with Canadian values on supporting the participation of persons with disabilities in society, while continuing to protect publicly funded health and social services. This would also benefit applicants with intellectual disabilities, applicants with hearing or visual impairments, and others.

The Government has been reviewing all elements of the medical inadmissibility provisions since 2016. This included meetings with provincial and territorial governments, and discussions with stakeholders.

In addition, the issue was studied by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, which recommended eliminating the policy. Going forward, the Government agrees with the Standing Committee’s recommendation to eliminate the policy and will collaborate with provinces and territories towards its full elimination.

Find out if you are selected to apply to sponsor your parent and grandparent

Citizenship Bill Receives Royal Assent

Ottawa, ON – Today, Bill C-6,an Act to amend the Citizenship Act and make consequential amendments to another Act, received Royal Assent.

Changes to the Citizenship Act reflect the Government’s commitments to streamline the citizenship process, enhance program integrity, and repeal certain provisions of the Act that treated dual citizens differently than other Canadians. Some changes to the Citizenship Act take effect immediately upon Royal Assent, while others take effect at later dates to ensure the necessary regulatory changes and departmental preparations are in place for a smooth transition for applicants.

As of today, applicants are no longer required to intend to continue to live in Canada once granted citizenship, providing more flexibility to Canadians who may need to live outside of Canada for work or personal reasons. Immediate changes also include repealing the ability to revoke citizenship from dual citizens convicted of crimes against the national interest. Dual citizens living in Canada who are convicted of these crimes will face the Canadian justice system, like other Canadian citizens who break the law.

Some of the changes that are expected to take effect later this fall will give more flexibility to both younger and older eligible immigrants to obtain citizenship. These changes include reducing the time permanent residents must be physically present in Canada to three out of five years, instead of four out of six years, before applying for citizenship; amending the age range for people to meet the language and knowledge requirements for citizenship from 14-64 years to 18-54 years; and counting some of the time applicants spend in Canada as temporary residents or protected persons toward their physical presence requirements for citizenship.

Other changes that are expected to take effect next year include strengthening the citizenship revocation process by having the Federal Court as the decision-maker on most cases, thereby enhancing the procedural fairness of the process. For a complete list of changes made to the Citizenship Act and when they take effect, please read the Bill C-6 Backgrounder.

Government of Canada launches the Global Skills Strategy

Fast application processing, enhanced customer service now available for companies

June 12, 2017—Toronto, ON – When companies in Canada can thrive and grow, they create more jobs. The Government of Canada’s new Global Skills Strategy will give employers a faster and more predictable process for attracting top talent and new skills to Canada, creating economic growth and more middle-class jobs for Canadians.

Today, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains and Rodger Cuzner, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, announced that employers and highly-skilled workers can now benefit from the Global Skills Strategy.

As part of the Strategy, which includes four pillars, high-skilled workers coming to Canada on a temporary basis are now able to benefit from two-week processing of applications for work permits and, when necessary, temporary resident visas. Open work permits for spouses and study permits for dependants will also be processed in two weeks when applicable.

Employers can now benefit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s new dedicated service channel and the new Global Talent Stream. This will help them access temporary, high-skilled, global talent, scale up or expand their knowledge of specialized skills so that they can be more innovative and build their expertise.

Two new work permit exemptions have also taken effect today. Highly-skilled workers who need to come to Canada for a very short-term assignment and researchers taking part in short-duration research projects being conducted in Canada will not require a work permit.

First announced in November 2016, the Global Skills Strategy helps promote global investment in Canada and supports the Government of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan. It recognizes that by facilitating the faster entry of top talent with specialized skill sets and global experience to Canada, we can help innovative companies grow, flourish and create jobs for Canadians.

Express Entry to begin awarding additional points to candidates with siblings in Canada and to candidates with strong French language skills

June 5, 2017—Markham, ON – Improvements to the Express Entry system taking effect tomorrow help support the integration of skilled workers as they build their new life in Canada. This benefits Canada as newcomers are able to more quickly put their skills to use to help strengthen and grow Canada’s economy.

Starting on June 6, new points will be awarded to candidates with siblings in Canada. Studies have shown that as newcomers build a new life in Canada, those with siblings benefit by having improved integration into Canadian society.

Other changes to the Express Entry system include points for candidates with strong French language skills, removing the requirement to register with Job Bank and a new approach to rank tied candidates in the Express Entry pool.

Programs managed through the Express Entry system attract high-skilled foreign workers and former international students who want to live in Canada permanently and whose in-demand skills are needed by employers across the country to help build businesses and grow the economy.

Universal Immigration Opens Branch Office in PHILIPPINES

Universal Immigration is proud to announce the opening of their branch office in Metro MAnila, Philippines.

The office will be tentatively operational from 17th May, 2017.

The address will be :

ALI MALL, Level - 2, Unit 2011, (Opposite DFA), CUBAO, Quezon City.

Contact No. 63-917-124-3465

Email : urcs.ph@universalimmigration.com

The branch will cater to all new clients wishing to immigrate to Canada or to come under Study Permits.

Quebec Immigrant Investor Program 2017

Next Opening of the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program

This morning, by way of Ministerial Decree, Quebec’s Minister of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion announced that the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program will reopen from May 29 2017 to February 23 2018. The maximum number of applications that can be received during this period is 1,900, including a maximum of 1,330 which can be received from Chinese passport holders (including passport holders from Hong Kong and Macao).

Some key points to consider for the next opening:

All applications must be submitted to Quebec Immigration in Montreal. The office in Hong Kong is closed as of April 1 2017;

The Government processing fee will continue to be $15,111 until December 31 2017. Any applications received in 2018 may be subject to an increase in this fee;

·Any applicants who demonstrate an intermediate ability in French, can submit their application at any time until March 31, 2018 and will receive priority processing.

We know that many of you have already been retained by clients who would like to apply during this upcoming opening. We would encourage you to continue putting those applications together, so that they are ready to be submitted at the opening of the Program.

We would invite you to contact us if you have any questions about the Quebec IIP. info@universalimmigration.com

Message from Ministry of Immigration Quebec

Hello,

The Ministère informs you that because of the tabling in the National Assembly of the Bill to increase the socio-economic prosperity of Quebec and to respond adequately to the needs of the labor market by successful integration of immigrants, it ceases make decisions under the Regular Skilled Worker Program until parliamentary proceedings are completed.

Since this is a bill before the National Assembly, the Department is not able to provide you with more information at this time. At this point, no action is required from you. If the law is passed and sanctioned, we will contact you to give you the information and instructions that will apply to your situation.

Remember that you can create an account in Arrima and deposit a declaration of interest free of charge at any time. This new system makes it possible to invite first and foremost the people who best meet the needs of Québec to apply for permanent selection.

Stay informed by visiting the News section of our website.

For details on the bill, please consult the website of

The national assembly.

Please receive our best regards.

QUEBEC A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

A new bill on immigration was introduced today in the National Assembly

The bill Loi visant à accroître la prospérité socio-économique du Québec et à répondre adéquatement aux besoins du marché du travail par une intégration réussie des personnes immigrantes (PL9) was introduced today in the National Assembly. The goal of this bill is to establish the necessary legal basis for improving the francization and integration of selected candidates as well as a better alignment of Québec’s labour needs with the profile of selected candidates.

The main objectives of the bill are as follows:

Improving the selection of immigrants

For immigration to contribute significantly to growing Québec’s prosperity and better responding to job market needs, the Ministère would like to benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the statement of interest. To do this, the bill proposes terminating most of the applications for which a decision has not yet been rendered under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and reimbursing the applicants in question so that from this point on all new applications occur by invitation of the Minister, following submission of a statement of interest.

This provision of the bill seeks, in particular, to:

ensure a better alignment between job market needs and the profile of selected candidates;

benefit more immediately from the new system for managing immigration applications based on the declaration of interest, by inviting candidates who meet Québec’s needs;

reduce processing times for applications for permanent selection from skilled workers.

Note that applications for the addition of a spouse or a de facto spouse and applications for the addition of a child submitted by skilled workers who have already been selected are not targeted by this provision.

Strengthening Québec’s actions in the area of immigration

The Ministère wishes to pursue its efforts to fully exercise its powers of selection, particularly with the reintroduction of the enabling power that allows the Québec government to determine by regulation the conditions for permanent residence that the Minister can impose on the candidates selected. Québec also wishes to expand its scope of intervention, by ensuring better follow-up of the clients that use the services offered by its many partners.

Public consultations on the bill will begin shortly and will enable stakeholders in the milieu, such as francization, integration and immigration law organizations, to voice their opinions on the new orientations proposed by the government.

For information on the details of Bill 9 and the public consultation, consult the National Assembly’s site.

2019 Parental Sponsorship Process Announced

Get ready to submit your 2019 interest to sponsor form

The first step to sponsor your parents or grandparents is filling out the interest to sponsor form.

The interest to sponsor form will be available at noon EST on January 28, 2019.

We’ll accept form submissions on a first-in basis. As soon as we get enough submissions, the form will no longer be available.

How to fill out the form

You, the person who wants to sponsor, must fill out the form.

If you have your information ready, it should take you about 10 minutes.

We recommend you use a desktop computer.

If you make a mistake on your interest to sponsor form, don’t submit another form.

Prepare your proof of status in Canada document

We’ll accept expired documents. You don’t need to renew your document to complete the interest to sponsor form or to submit your sponsorship application.

Make sure you use the same status document with your interest to sponsor form submission as you’ll submit with your application, if you’re invited to apply.

Submit one of the following proof of status documents:

permanent resident card (both sides)

record of landing (IMM 1000) (only if you didn’t get a PR Card)

Confirmation of Permanent Residence (IMM 5292 or IMM 5688)

Canadian Citizenship Certificate or card (both sides)

Canadian birth certificate

If you were born in Quebec, we’ll only accept a birth certificate from the Directeur de l’État civil.

Canadian passport (pages showing passport number, date of issue and expiration, photo, name, surname, place and date of birth)

Secure certificate of Indian status

Prepare your copy ahead of time and know where to find it on your computer or mobile device.

How to create an electronic or digital copy

You can use a scanner or camera to create a digital copy of your proof of status document. Scan or take a picture of your status in Canada document.

The maximum file size is 2.5 MB. If your file is bigger than 2.5 MB, you should reduce the size.

You can only submit 1 file with your interest to sponsor form. If you have to submit both sides of your status in Canada document, save both sides into 1 document. If you don’t have a photo editing software, the easiest way to do this is to save both images into a Microsoft Word Document.

We accept these file formats:

PDF (Portable Document)

JPG, TIFF, or PNG (image)

DOC or DOCX (Microsoft Word document)

Take note of the name you give the file and where you save it so you can easily find the file later.

To avoid delays in processing, make sure the image is clear and your information is easy to read.

After you submit your interest to sponsor form in 2019

After you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form, you’ll see a confirmation page with a confirmation number. Keep this number for your records.

We’ll also send you an email to confirm that we’ve received your form.

We’ll invite potential sponsors to submit a complete application in the same order we receive the interest to sponsor forms.

We’ll start sending invitations after we review the submissions and remove duplicates.

If you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form this year, use your confirmation number to find out if you’re invited to apply.

Increased Immigration Levels in future Years Announced by Minister of Immigration CANADA

Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the new multi-year immigration levels plan for 2019-2021. This new immigration plan will benefit all Canadians because immigrants contribute to Canada’s economic growth and help keep Canada competitive in a global economy.

The new plan builds on the strong economic foundation laid out in last year’s levels plan and continues to responsibly grow the number of permanent residents Canada welcomes annually to 330,800 in 2019, 341,000 in 2020 and 350,000—nearing 1 percent of Canada’s population—in 2021.

Minister Hussen highlighted the importance of economic immigration in spurring innovation domestically. That’s why the government’s immigration plan remains focused on attracting the best and brightest from around the world with the majority of the increase in 2021 allotted to high-skilled economic immigration. Newcomers are helping Canadian companies succeed and grow in the expanding information and communications technology sector, where one third of employees are immigrants.

Canada has welcomed generations of immigrants who have brought their talents to, and are an integral part of, local communities across the country. Immigration is a central pillar of Canada’s future economic success. In addition to spurring economic growth, immigration helps address the challenges our country faces with an ageing population, and plays a crucial role in keeping our country at the forefront of the global economy.

Great News for Parental Sponsorship 2019

To help reunite even more parents and grandparents with their families in Canada, today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that the Government of Canada will accept up to 20 000 applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents, in 2019. This is 4 times the number of applications accepted when the program reopened in 2014, when the cap was set at 5000 applications.

This decision to increase the number of applications that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept for processing is a result of continually high demand in the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program and the fact that we have significantly reduced the inventory of applications.

New QUEBEC Skilled Worker Application intake begins August 2, 2018

New Quebec Applicants... Get Ready:

The application intake is likely to begin from August 2, 2018. The Gazette states "the date of coming into force of the provisions of the Act respecting immigration to Québec (2016, chapter 3) be set for August 2, 2018"

The new system will replace the current first-come, first-served application process for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP).

The process of applying under the Quebec Skilled Worker program, or what the government calls the Regular Skilled Worker Program, will include the following steps for candidates:

1. Submission of an Expression of Interest to settle in Quebec and entry into Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

2. Successful selection from the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank results in an invitation to apply for the QSWP.

3. Submission of an application for a Quebec Selection Certificate, or certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) to the MIDI.

4. Submission of a Canadian permanent residence application to the federal government.

After the initial step of submitting an Expression of Interest to MIDI, candidates will be entered into the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank.

Candidates who meet the requirements, cut-off thresholds and passing scores for the program will be considered for selection.

Any foreign national 18 or older may submit an expression of interest to the province.

Once in the bank, a candidate will be assigned a score based on nine factors in Quebec's QSWP Points Grid, which include skilled work experience, education and training, proficiency in French or English, financial self-sufficiency, and others. In order to be considered, all profiles will have to meet the minimum score requirement of two points awarded for a secondary school general diploma and receive the one point for financial self-sufficiency to remain in Quebec's Expression of Interest Bank.

Profiles that meet the initial requirements for education and financial self-sufficiency must then meet the required cut-off score of 43 points for Employability factors.

If a candidate has a spouse, his or her education and training, work experience and language proficiency will be considered toward's a candidates overall cut-off score.The Employability cut-off score for candidates with a spouse or common-law partner is 52.

Candidates in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank must also meet the minimum threshold for Selection factors, which is a passing score of 50 points (and 59 with a spouse or common-law partner). Selection factors take into consideration all Employability factors, and the addition of children and the financial self-sufficiency.

Once in the Quebec Expression of Interest Bank, a candidate's profile will remain active for 12 months.

Notice Class action against the MIDI

On February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes that came into effect on August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017. In order to respect the terms of Superior Court’s of Quebec judgment, the Ministère is issuing the following notice:

CLASS ACTION AGAINST THE MINISTRY OF IMMIGRATION,DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVENESS OF QUEBEC (THE “MIDI”)C.C.M. 500-06-000660-130 NOTICE OF CLASS ACTION AUTHORIZATION

Read this notice carefully as it may affect your legal rights.

If you applied to immigrate to Québec in the “skilled worker” class between 2009 and March 2017, you may be a member of the class action that was authorized by Justice Pepita Capriolo of the Superior Court of Québec on February 19, 2018 for the following groups of persons (the “Class Members”):

Group 1

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013;

Whose application included form A-1520-AA or A-1520-AF containing the phrase “Your application for a selection certificate will be processed based on regulations in effect when it was submitted” or similar language; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of August 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer accumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 2

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category prior to July 8, 2013:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of August 1, 2013; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the 1, 2013 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Group 3

All individuals who filed an application with the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion du Québec for a selection certificate in the “skilled worker” category:

Whose application had not reached the preliminary processing stage as of March 8, 2017; and

Whose application has been or will be refused by the Minister because, due to the retroactive application of the March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2., the individuals no longer cumulated enough points to pass preliminary processing or to be selected.

Purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the "Class Representative") instituted proceedings in the Superior Court of Quebec (the "Court") seeking permission to bring a class action against the Minister on behalf of the Class (the "Application for Authorization"). On May 16, 2017, the Application for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Class Representative for Group 3.

The Application for Authorization alleges that the Minister was unjustly enriched, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Québec by failing to offer a reimbursement of application fees paid by those individuals whose CSQ applications became doomed to fail as a result of the application of August 1, 2013 and March 8, 2017 amendments to the Regulation respecting the weighting applicable to the selection of foreign nationals, CSLR I-0.2, r.2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet seek reimbursement of application fees for all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Court authorized the Class Representatives to institute a class action in the judicial District of Montreal on behalf of the Class Members, and identified the following principal issues to be dealt with collectively:

(a) Should the Minister be condemned to reimburse the fees collected for the applications of the Group Members who do not opt out of the proposed class action?

And, in particular:

(b) Were the Group Members impoverished, and the Minister enriched, in the amount of the application fees paid, the whole without juridical reason?

(c) What is the amount of the Group Members' impoverishment and the Minister's enrichment?

(d) Alternately. did the Minister commit an extra-contractual fault and act in bad faith?

I. If so, what is the amount of damages suffered by the Group Members as a direct result of the Minister's faults?

(e) In all cases, can the aggregate amount of the fees to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

I. GRANT the Petitioners' action a against Respondent;

II. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay to each Group Member who have not opted out of the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid for their applications for a selection certificate in the skilled worker category filed prior to July 8, 2013, or the fees paid for applications doomed to failure by the 2017 amendments;

III. ORDER the collective recovery of all amounts to be paid by the Respondent to the Group Members;

THE WHOLE with costs, including the costs of publication of notices.

Opting out of the class action

If you wish to remain a Class Member in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to opt out of the class action, you must advise the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days of receiving this notice by registered mail to 1 Notre-Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 1B6. If you elect to opt out, you will not be eligible for any of the benefits of an eventual judgment on the merits.

Any Class Member who does not opt out before the deadline will be bound by Judgments to follow in the class action, including any final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the action against the Minister is ultimately successful. you may be entitled to reimbursement of the fees you paid to file an application for a CSQ. If the action against the Minister is unsuccessful, you will not be able to bring or maintain your own individual claim against the Minister in relation to the matters alleged in these proceedings.

All class members have the right to seek intervenor status in the class action. However, no class member other than the representative plaintiffs or an intervenor may be required to pay legal costs arising from the class action.

Additional information and questions

For any questions concerning the Authorization Order and the process that will follow, please communicate with the Class Representative's counsel:

Notice Class Action Against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion

February 19, 2018, the Superior Court authorized a class action against the Department of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion (MIDI) for regulatory changes entered into force on 1 st August 2013 and March 8 2017. In order to comply with the terms of the judgment of the Superior Court of Quebec, the Ministère diffuse the following opinion:

The purpose of this notice

On August 23, 2016, Rahim (the " Representative ") filed an application with the Superior Court of Quebec (the " Tribunal ") seeking leave of the Tribunal to institute a class action against the Minister on behalf of Group (the " Request for Authorization "). On May 16, 2017, the Request for Authorization was amended to add Rhia Basnet as Group 3 Representative.

The Application for Leave alleges that the Minister was enriched without cause, acted in bad faith and abused her rights contrary to the provisions of the Civil Code of Quebec by failing to offer a reimbursement of expenses paid by individuals whose claims CSQ have become doomed to failure because of the application of the amendments from 1 st August 2013 and March 8, 2017 the weighting applicable Regulations to the selection of foreign nationals , RLRQ c I-0.2, r. 2. Mr. Rahim and Ms. Basnet request reimbursement of expenses paid by all Class Members.

On February 19, 2018, the Tribunal authorized the Representatives to institute a class action in the District of Montreal on behalf of the Class and identified the main issues to be dealt with collectively and the related conclusions sought as follows:

(a) Should the Minister be ordered to reimburse the fees collected for CSQ applications from Class Members who did not exclude themselves from the class action?

And more particularly :

(b) Were the Group Members and the Minister respectively impoverished and enriched in the proportion of the fees paid for CSQ applications, all without any legal justification?

(c) What are the amounts of the impoverishment of the Members of the group and the enrichment of the Minister?

(d) In the alternative, did the Minister commit an extracontractual error and act in bad faith?

i. If so, what is the amount of damages incurred by the Class Members as a direct result of the Minister's mistakes?

(e) In any case, can the total amount of the costs to be reimbursed be awarded on a collective basis?

The conclusions sought in relation to these questions are as follows:

i. RECEIVE the Claimants' action against the Respondent;

ii. CONDEMN the Respondent to pay each Class Member who did not exclude from the class action an amount equivalent to the fees paid by those members to file their CSQ applications in the "Skilled Worker" category before July 8th 2013, or the fees paid to file claims that have become doomed by the effect of the 2017 amendments;

iii. ORDER the collective recovery of the amounts due to the Class Members by the Respondent;

ALL with costs, including the cost of posting notices.

Exclusion of class action

If you wish to remain a member of the Group in the class action, you have nothing to do.

If you wish to exclude yourself from this class action, you must notify the clerk of the Superior Court for the District of Montreal within 60 days after receiving the notice , by registered mail at 1 Notre Dame Street East, Montreal, Quebec , H2Y 1B6. If you choose to exclude yourself, you will not be eligible for any benefit of a potential judgment on the merits.

Any member of the Class who does not exclude himself before the expiry of the exclusion period will be bound by any judgment rendered in the class action, including a final judgment on the merits.

This means that if the Representatives ultimately win the case against MIDI, you will be entitled to a refund of the fees you paid to file your CSQ application. In the event of failure of the class action, you will not be able to file or maintain a personal claim against MIDI in relation to the allegations in these proceedings.

All Class Members have the right to request to intervene in the class action. However, a member who is not a Representative or an intervenor may not be required to pay the legal costs of the class action.

Additional information and questions

If you have any questions about the Authorization Order or the process that will follow, please contact the attorneys of the Representatives:

Government of Canada brings medical inadmissibility policy in line with inclusivity for persons with disabilities

April 16, 2018 – Ottawa, ON – One of the Government of Canada’s priorities is to ensure greater accessibility and opportunities for Canadians with disabilities. Today’s announcement by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen of changes to the medical inadmissibility provision of theImmigration and Refugee Protection Actensures that our immigration policies better align with Canadian values and reflect the importance that the Government places on the inclusion of persons with disabilities.

Under the 40-year-old policy, applicants could be found medically inadmissible to Canada based on a set of criteria out of step with a 21st century approach to persons with disabilities. Most of those affected are individuals who would otherwise be approved in the economic immigration class, and selected for the benefit their skills will bring to the Canadian economy.

While the number of refusals under this provision was not high, it resulted in cases where applicants or their children were refused despite the fact their health condition or disability was one readily accommodated in Canadian society.

The new policy on medical inadmissibility strikes a balance between protecting publicly funded health and social services and updating the policy to bring it in line with current views on the inclusion of persons with disabilities. The changes include:

increasing the cost threshold for medical inadmissibility to 3 times the previous level, and

amending the definition of social services by removing references to special education, social and vocational rehabilitation services and personal support services.

Increasing the cost threshold will facilitate immigration for applicants with health conditions that typically require a limited range of health and social services and have relatively low health and social services costs. It is expected that this would dispense with a majority of the medical inadmissibility cases seen in Canada today.

Amending the definition of social services will bring the policy in line with Canadian values on supporting the participation of persons with disabilities in society, while continuing to protect publicly funded health and social services. This would also benefit applicants with intellectual disabilities, applicants with hearing or visual impairments, and others.

The Government has been reviewing all elements of the medical inadmissibility provisions since 2016. This included meetings with provincial and territorial governments, and discussions with stakeholders.

In addition, the issue was studied by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, which recommended eliminating the policy. Going forward, the Government agrees with the Standing Committee’s recommendation to eliminate the policy and will collaborate with provinces and territories towards its full elimination.

Find out if you are selected to apply to sponsor your parent and grandparent

Citizenship Bill Receives Royal Assent

Ottawa, ON – Today, Bill C-6,an Act to amend the Citizenship Act and make consequential amendments to another Act, received Royal Assent.

Changes to the Citizenship Act reflect the Government’s commitments to streamline the citizenship process, enhance program integrity, and repeal certain provisions of the Act that treated dual citizens differently than other Canadians. Some changes to the Citizenship Act take effect immediately upon Royal Assent, while others take effect at later dates to ensure the necessary regulatory changes and departmental preparations are in place for a smooth transition for applicants.

As of today, applicants are no longer required to intend to continue to live in Canada once granted citizenship, providing more flexibility to Canadians who may need to live outside of Canada for work or personal reasons. Immediate changes also include repealing the ability to revoke citizenship from dual citizens convicted of crimes against the national interest. Dual citizens living in Canada who are convicted of these crimes will face the Canadian justice system, like other Canadian citizens who break the law.

Some of the changes that are expected to take effect later this fall will give more flexibility to both younger and older eligible immigrants to obtain citizenship. These changes include reducing the time permanent residents must be physically present in Canada to three out of five years, instead of four out of six years, before applying for citizenship; amending the age range for people to meet the language and knowledge requirements for citizenship from 14-64 years to 18-54 years; and counting some of the time applicants spend in Canada as temporary residents or protected persons toward their physical presence requirements for citizenship.

Other changes that are expected to take effect next year include strengthening the citizenship revocation process by having the Federal Court as the decision-maker on most cases, thereby enhancing the procedural fairness of the process. For a complete list of changes made to the Citizenship Act and when they take effect, please read the Bill C-6 Backgrounder.

Government of Canada launches the Global Skills Strategy

Fast application processing, enhanced customer service now available for companies

June 12, 2017—Toronto, ON – When companies in Canada can thrive and grow, they create more jobs. The Government of Canada’s new Global Skills Strategy will give employers a faster and more predictable process for attracting top talent and new skills to Canada, creating economic growth and more middle-class jobs for Canadians.

Today, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains and Rodger Cuzner, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour, announced that employers and highly-skilled workers can now benefit from the Global Skills Strategy.

As part of the Strategy, which includes four pillars, high-skilled workers coming to Canada on a temporary basis are now able to benefit from two-week processing of applications for work permits and, when necessary, temporary resident visas. Open work permits for spouses and study permits for dependants will also be processed in two weeks when applicable.

Employers can now benefit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s new dedicated service channel and the new Global Talent Stream. This will help them access temporary, high-skilled, global talent, scale up or expand their knowledge of specialized skills so that they can be more innovative and build their expertise.

Two new work permit exemptions have also taken effect today. Highly-skilled workers who need to come to Canada for a very short-term assignment and researchers taking part in short-duration research projects being conducted in Canada will not require a work permit.

First announced in November 2016, the Global Skills Strategy helps promote global investment in Canada and supports the Government of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan. It recognizes that by facilitating the faster entry of top talent with specialized skill sets and global experience to Canada, we can help innovative companies grow, flourish and create jobs for Canadians.

Express Entry to begin awarding additional points to candidates with siblings in Canada and to candidates with strong French language skills

June 5, 2017—Markham, ON – Improvements to the Express Entry system taking effect tomorrow help support the integration of skilled workers as they build their new life in Canada. This benefits Canada as newcomers are able to more quickly put their skills to use to help strengthen and grow Canada’s economy.

Starting on June 6, new points will be awarded to candidates with siblings in Canada. Studies have shown that as newcomers build a new life in Canada, those with siblings benefit by having improved integration into Canadian society.

Other changes to the Express Entry system include points for candidates with strong French language skills, removing the requirement to register with Job Bank and a new approach to rank tied candidates in the Express Entry pool.

Programs managed through the Express Entry system attract high-skilled foreign workers and former international students who want to live in Canada permanently and whose in-demand skills are needed by employers across the country to help build businesses and grow the economy.

Universal Immigration Opens Branch Office in PHILIPPINES

Universal Immigration is proud to announce the opening of their branch office in Metro MAnila, Philippines.

The office will be tentatively operational from 17th May, 2017.

The address will be :

ALI MALL, Level - 2, Unit 2011, (Opposite DFA), CUBAO, Quezon City.

Contact No. 63-917-124-3465

Email : urcs.ph@universalimmigration.com

The branch will cater to all new clients wishing to immigrate to Canada or to come under Study Permits.

Quebec Immigrant Investor Program 2017

Next Opening of the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program

This morning, by way of Ministerial Decree, Quebec’s Minister of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusion announced that the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program will reopen from May 29 2017 to February 23 2018. The maximum number of applications that can be received during this period is 1,900, including a maximum of 1,330 which can be received from Chinese passport holders (including passport holders from Hong Kong and Macao).

Some key points to consider for the next opening:

All applications must be submitted to Quebec Immigration in Montreal. The office in Hong Kong is closed as of April 1 2017;

The Government processing fee will continue to be $15,111 until December 31 2017. Any applications received in 2018 may be subject to an increase in this fee;

·Any applicants who demonstrate an intermediate ability in French, can submit their application at any time until March 31, 2018 and will receive priority processing.

We know that many of you have already been retained by clients who would like to apply during this upcoming opening. We would encourage you to continue putting those applications together, so that they are ready to be submitted at the opening of the Program.

We would invite you to contact us if you have any questions about the Quebec IIP. info@universalimmigration.com

QSWP quota for 2017 is 5000

Quebec Announces the Quota for 2017 under the Quebec Skilled Worker Program. The Quota has been fixed at 5000.

The date and method of acceptance of Applications will be announced later.